Silver Lining
by Coco Gash Jirachi
Summary: AU, OOCish. Work of fiction. For Dark Angel Of Wind. A story of love, struggle, family, heart-break, strength, and the human heart. Rated M for obscure nudity, slight incest, sexual-like themes, bits of violence, and Blitz thinking hentai thoughts.
1. Prologue: The Stormy Night

_**Silver Lining**_

_**By Coco Gash Jirachi**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, nor do I own Hikaru, nor Setsuna "Genji"**_

_**Claimer: I do own Hikari**_

_**Summary: AU, OOCish. Work of fiction. For Dark Angel Of Wind. A story of love, struggle, family, heart-break, strength, and the human heart. Rated M for obscure nudity, slight incest, sexual-like themes, bits of violence, and Blitz thinking hentai thoughts.**_

* * *

**_"Setsuna-Nii-san's gonna kill us!!"_**

**_"Sissy-cha, wait up, please!!"_**

**_"Sorry, Lil' Light!!"_**

_**"STOP RIGHT THERE, YOU SATELLITE-SLUMS!!!"**_

_**"FASTER, KARI!!!"**_

_**"I'M RUNNING AS FAST AS I CAN, KARU!!!"**_

Bare, dirty feet padded almost noisily against puddled, black concreted-grounds, a small girl and a larger girl running through the darkened streets, police sirens flashing not even one-hundred meters away from them. Each of them had a dark brown-colored blanket-like cape of a sort tied around their necks, hoods covering their heads.

The small girl screeched when thunder clasped louder than symbols, lightning flashing like strobe-lights among the gray, heavy clouds.

"Why, oh why does it have to be so scary?!" she whimpered, silver hair streaked with blue plastering against the wet skin of her face.

"Don't worry, Hikari! I'll be sure to get you to safety! I promise!" the elder responded, her own raven hair streaked with red sticking to her face as well. "We'll be safe, and together forever! I promise!"

The small girl, Hikari, smiled, looking up at her sister.

"Thanks, Hikaru-Sissy-cha!" she responded. Her "Sissy-cha", Hikaru, smiled, nodding.

**Yusei: "Prologue: The Stormy Night."**

_**"STEP AWAY FROM THE BOAT!!! WE HAVE YOU SURROUNDED!!!"**_

**_"Lil' Light, take my hand!!" _**Hikaru screeched, trying to keep one of her arms holding onto the side of the small rowboat in the unsteady waters.

**_"I can't reach!!" _**Hikari cried, kneeling on the edge of the cement dock, holding out her short arm as far as she could reach, her other arm clutching something wrapped in a dark brown-colored blanket desperately.

The sound of an explosion was let off, and Hikaru's grip slipped, the rope snapping, and she screamed as Hikari screamed.

**_"HIKARIIIIIIII!!!" _**was shouted as the boat was swept away, blood spattered across the front of Hikaru's soaked shirt. Unconscious from hitting her head on the dock, she floated from Hikari's sight.

**_"HIKARUUUUUUUU!!!"_** the small girl screamed, holding her bleeding right cheek.

**_"That's quite enough!!"_**

Hikari gasped as she was tackled down, her hands locked into steel handcuffs.

"There's no way that little rat can survive out in this storm," Ushio said, pulling her up onto her feet by the chain links. "She'll be dead within minutes."

_"No..."_ Hikari gasped. _"No, no, no, no, **NOOOOOOOOO!!! SISSY-CHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!**"_ the silver-haired girl screamed up to the rain-clouded sky.

"Shut your mouth!!" Ushio shouted, holding his handgun near her head. Hikari gasped, bowing her head down, her arms still clutching her bundle. Smirking, the dark-skinned officer chuckled at her submissive behavior. "Well, well, who would have ever thought that such a little girl such as yourself was causing all of that trouble in the Tops?"

"Looks can be deceiving," Hikari dared to whisper, wet bangs covering her closed eyes.

"You do realize, without any other witnesses, you will be the only one punished for the crimes?" Ushio asked, almost amused as he began to nearly drag her to his truck; Hikari struggled on her scraping bare feet. "This will be our little secret: you killed your sister..."

Hikari remained unresponsive, her lips quivering. She uttered not a word nor a sound as she was shoved harshly into the back of a truck filled with about twenty more people; strewn about on the seats and on the floor, they all slept. One or two of them bore yellow markers on their cheeks, that much Hikari knew.

"Get along with your cellmates until morning," Ushio taunted, slamming the door shut after Hikari's wrists were freed.

As the occupants stirred, becoming awakened, Hikari felt how out of place she was. Glad to have her cape and hood, she sat down in the corner beside the door. As soon as she knew the others were asleep again, she opened her bundle. A well-kept, and very loved teddy bear dressed in a turquoise sweater and green-blue overalls with honey-brown fur was inside, along with a few pictures; one was in a frame.

The framed picture had Hikaru and Hikari within it, along with a green-haired punk boy with a dog tag around his neck. His tongue was out, almost showing off his lightly wet with saliva, silver studs. Hikari held her teddy bear closely in it, smiling.

Another picture was just of Hikaru and Hikari, sitting under a tree, smiling.

The third picture was different. Within a crib, Hikaru as a baby was seen, asleep beside a slumbering male baby with black hair and yellow streaks in his hair.

Deciding not to risk losing them, Hikari opened the back of the frame, hiding them behind the picture of her, her sister and the boy. Replacing the back, you would never have been able to guess that other photos were hiding behind the original. She then slipped the frame into the back of her teddy bear's clothes

Covering herself with the wet cloth around her body, Hikari curled up, clutching her teddy bear tightly to herself, wanting to feel the frame beneath his clothes.

"Kaoru..." she whispered, snuggling into her teddy bear. "It's just you and me now..."

_Sissy-cha is dead..._

* * *


	2. Hikaru

_Scream... scream... scream... scream..._

There they went.

Keeping her head low, the little silver-haired girl allowed herself to be guided by the large hands on her shoulders, her eyes blindfolded.

**_"Remain calm, people! The beast is under our control; she will not harm any one of you!"_**

Hugging Kaoru, Hikari squeezed him, feeling her photographs hidden underneath his clothes.

They were still there.

**_"Gee, I wonder which lucky duck gets to be her roommate next?"_**

**_"I bet it's the old man; if anyone needs to be scared shitless, it's Yanagi."_**

**_"I bet Himuro Jin'd be afraid of her,"_**

**_"Imagine serving a sentence here like hers!"_**

**_"Hard to believe she was the devil behind the Tops crimes..."_**

**_"I hear that if they can't get her acting normally through an exorcism, they're going to give her the death penalty."_**

**_"I bet she's just dying to tear apart her new roomie!"_**

No one noticed the single, crystal tear that traveled down Hikari's cheek, becoming absorbed by the gauze on her right cheek.

_Why must they always talk like this?..._

_... All I want is a friend..._

**Yusei: "Hikaru."**

Rally stared; his arms were crossed on his chest, and he chewed on his bottom lip. His then began to bounce up and down on his feet; toes up, toes down, toes up, toes down.

Lifting his arms up, he tucked his hands underneath his yellow hat, weaving his fingers into his curly, red hair. Bouncing on the tips of his toes, he continued staring at the face-down body along the shore -

If you could call it a shore.

The limp, soaking wet, black-clad body of raven-haired Hikaru was lain across old, various metal trashes people of Neo-Domino City were too lazy to toss to recycling and garbage centers for the Satellite people to clean and ship back for factories.

Rally could see the mysterious Hikaru was breathing - a sign of life - but could not assess any damage done to her body at all; such questions were running through his mind, like was she a Neo-Domino citizen, or a satellite-inhabitant who slipped into the water in a working accident?; How long had she been here, a few minutes, hours, days, weeks, even months?; Was she educated or illiterate?; Did she have any family, was she an orphan?; Above all, was she injured or hurt in any way, or possibly sick with anything from a disease to the common cold?... The list was endless.

"What to do, what to do?..." Rally asked himself, folding his arms around the back of his head. "Taka, Blitz and Nerve are going to be suspecting I'm up to trouble again if I don't head back soon... but I can't just leave her here!... What if I bring her back?... Would they even let me keep her? They'd think she's diseased or dying, or something from how she looks!"

Gray periwinkle eyes then widened; the red-head's head picked up, and he smiled.

"But if I make it look like she was just someone who fainted from heatstroke or something, then they'd let me keep her!" Rally exclaimed, fisting his hands, smiling triumphantly with his lips tucked into his mouth. "Yes! I am so smart!" he shouted, punching the air.

Taking off his lab-like aqua coat, Rally placed it over Hikaru, and then leaned down to start patting her dry.

"Well, what do we have here?"

**_"- Aaaaah!!"_** Rally exclaimed in surprise, jumping and falling atop of Hikaru's back.

"Trying to be a good Samaritan again?" Blitz asked, leaning down, his face close to Rally's.

Rally, turning over, glared at the bluenette, and stuck out his tongue, raspberrying.

"You meanie-head!! Don't scare me like that!!" Rally snapped. "And how long have you guys been watching me?!"

"Since we got off of work, Ralls." Taka responded, rubbing the back of his head.

"Looks like Rally's got his first crush," Nerve teased with a bit of a smile.

"Tojikomeru, Nervu..." Rally mumbled, growling lightly.

"Well, I gotta hand it to you pal, you do have a good eye for women." Blitz said, pushing his glasses up his nose as he leaned down further, examining Hikaru's face. "What a fox."

"Leave her alone, Blitzkrieg!!" Rally shouted, pushing him away with his hands held out straight in front of him. "I'm the one who found her!!" he exclaimed, waving his arms around in the air nearly frantic with an emotion that could only by sight be described as anger. "I wanna help her; take care of her until she's better!" Rally said, giving off an angry-like pout. "I won't let you say 'no' like you did when I found that lizard!"

"Rally, that **thing** lit the theater on _fire_," Nerve reminded.

"But he was so _cute!_"

"Rally, look, why would we say 'no' when this is a damsel in distress?" Blitz asked.

"You'd better not try hitting on her," Rally growled, turning around and kneeling back down. "I know where to kick a guy if I have to!" he added, taking a hold of Hikaru's shoulders, beginning to pull her up.

"You make it sound as if you're a girl yourself, Rally..." Blitz sighed, his voice forcing out innocence.

"Nii-san,"

Blitz sweat-dropped when Nerve lightly smacked him on the back of the head with a pipe he had swiped up.

"Cut the crap, would ya?" he asked, leaving Blitz standing there as he and Taka stepped towards Rally and the girl, leaning down.

"Okay, you guys! Team effort!" Taka said, and the three of them pushed Hikaru up from the ground, holding her in midair.

All of a sudden, Blitz sneezed, a line of blood trailing out of his nostril.

"Hentai thoughts!! Nii-san's thinking hentai thoughts!!" Nerve teased as Blitz's mouth corners twitched, glasses slipping.

"I don't get it; what's so hentai?" Rally asked innocently, not even noticing his right cheek was brushing against a dangling breast.

"We'll talk about it later," Taka responded for him.

"Okay, then!" Rally responded.

"Taka, can you carry her?" Nerve asked. "I think my arms will turn to jelly if I hold her up any longer..."

"Come on, she's so light I could carry her all by myself if I had a bit more muscle!" Rally exclaimed as Taka adjusted Hikaru, letting her unconsciously rest in his arms; switch her dark clothes for white, she'd look like a bride.

"Well my arms are still all pins and needles from working at the plant today," Nerve responded, moving his arms in circular motions he would make when running.

"You guys got the heavier boxes today?" Rally asked.

"Yeah, unfortunately." Blitz was able to manage saying without stuttering.

_Is she even wearing a bra?..._ crossed the bluenette's mind.

"Come on; we'd best head back to the subway," Taka said, turning towards the opening in the fence. "Before it gets dark and cold."

"Good idea," Rally responded, nodding.

As the group of four boys headed out with Hikaru in arms, wind blew hot air right in their faces. They stood through it, though, for it only lasted a few seconds. The breeze had caused Hikaru's hair to move, uncovering the right half of a silver heart on a chain. Now freed from its prison of hair, the black lettering was read clearly:

_Big Sis_

_Hikaru_

* * *


	3. Hikari

"I'm afraid I can't help you, sonny."

"You have got to be kidding me! You're a police officer, for the love of Kami!" the green-haired boy shouted, his free hand fisted.

"People who have been missing for that long in the Satellite have either ran away or have died by now," the man with graying hair said. He was a short, stout fellow; a dark blue police cap with a black brim was atop of his thinning hair, and his light blue shirt was clean and pressed - it was a luxury itself to possess _clean underwear_ within these slums, so he stuck out like a sore thumb. On top of that, elderly were rarely able to survive in the filthy environment. "I'm sorry, sonny."

"Why you - first of all, old man, don't call me 'sonny'!" he growled, holding his fist up. "The name's Genji to you; Setsuna Genji!"

"Alright then, Genji-san." the officer replied, ever-smiling his polite smile.

"And second of all, I know my own sisters well enough to know that they wouldn't run away!" Genji exclaimed, letting his hand fall back down to his side; still fisting it as if it clutched around the pure source of life. "I filed this missing report over two weeks ago! Hikaru and Hikari are not that hard to find!"

"I'm afraid I can't help you," the officer repeated. "Your sisters could have somehow accidentally slipped and drowned, or fell in trash at the power plant on the other side of the island. Heck, they could have been arrested."

"Arrested?! For what, might I ask you?!" Genji growled.

"I don't know; trying to escape the Satellite, stealing, anything you folks do here every day." the old man responded, not wavering his straight, smiling face even the slightest fraction of a decimal beginning with one thousand zeros. Genji sweat-dropped. Now he knew this man was from the mainland, and therefor an idiot when it came to satellite-inhabitants.

"Argh, what the hell is even the point in arguing over this anymore?!" he shouted, fisting his hair with both hands, keeping his grip on his photograph.

"I wasn't arguing with you, Setsuna-san," the man said. "Was I?"

_**"DID I SAY YOU COULD CALL ME BY MY SURNAME?!?!"**_ Genji shouted.

"That was your surname?"

**_"FUCK THIS!!!"_** Genji shouted, throwing his arms up into the air as he turned on his heels and began to storm away, the sun beating down on his neck behind him.

"Have a nice day, Setsuna Genji-san!" the officer called, waving his hand high up in the air. This only made the green-haired boy bare his teeth to growl and start running down the cracked, crumbling streets.

_Stupid girl name..._

**Yusei: "Hikari."**

Wincing as the impact of a shove, Yusei hit the wall, Yanagi bumping into him by the force.

"Enjoy your new roommate,"

_"Please don't scream..."_ was whimpered nearly a fraction of a second after the door's tumblers locked into place.

Blinking, Yusei turned his head, looking at the corner of the room. There sat Hikari upon a a blue, worn-looking futon. She hugged her knees, Kaoru laying upon them, her back to the older teen and the old man.

"What are you doing in a place like this?" the raven-haired boy asked.

"Paying for my sins and debts to Neo-Domino and myself."

"You're not one of those brainwashed kids from the Satellite school, aren't you?" Yusei asked, sweat-dropping.

Hikari sniffled, burying her face into her arms, trying to hide her tears. She then gasped when she felt a pair of hands on her shoulders.

"Hey now, what's the matter?" Yusei asked her. "What are you crying for?"

_"I ain't crying..."_ Hikari uttered, unable to keep her voice from cracking. _"I ain't cryyyyyyying!!"_ she sobbed, gripping her eyes with her hands. _"I-I-I-I-I... I'm just fine!!"_

"That certainly doesn't sound fine," Yusei responded. "My name is Yusei; Fudo Yusei, but you can just call me Yusei."

"I heard of you; you won a duel against Himuro Jin, and now you're practically head prisoner." Hikari responded, Kaoru's head tucker under her chin. "And of course, every one knows who Yanagi is."

"Well then, what's your name?" Yusei asked.

Picking her head up, Hikari turned around. Revealing her face, there was white gauze taped onto her right cheek, a stain of blood seeping through it. On her left cheek, were three, yellow shredded-looking claw-like markers traveling diagonally down and to the left down her cheek.

"I... I'm Hikari..." she responded. "... Just plain Hikari..."

"Where on earth did you get that?" Yusei asked, laying a gloved finger onto her gauze, which made her wince, jerking away.

"I was shot at when I was running away..." Hikari responded, holding her hands over her cheek, shaking. "It's understandable, though... my crimes were unforgivable."

"What did you do?" Yanagi asked.

"... I'm the one caught and responsible for the Tops crimes..."

"- You mean you're the feared beast?!" Yanagi exclaimed, backing away, pointing at her, shaking.

"I asked you not to scream..." Hikari sniffled, teary, ocean blue eyes staring almost hurtfully at the old man. "That may be the only crime I was arrested for... but I'm here for a different reason!" she said, her hand clutching something on a silver chain around her neck.

"I knew it; she's a killer at heart!!" Yanagi exclaimed.

_**"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!"**_

Yusei seemed nearly unfazed at the little girl's tears.

_**"You're a mean old man!! Meanie meanie meanie meanie meanie!!"**_ Hikari said, rubbing her tearing eyes, Kaoru laying on her knees.

_She's broken hearted,_ Yusei thought, his eyes locked onto the left half of a broken heart on her silver chain. He read the black lettering:

_Lil' Sis_

_Hikari_

* * *


	4. Right Half

"Can't I just look at them?"

"Don't you mean 'her', Blitzu?" Rally asked.

"Nii-san's thinking hentai thoughts again," Nerve said, shaking his head.

"Can I poke one?" Blitz asked.

"Stop being such a needy pervert! Love and peace; you shouldn't molest unconscious women!" Taka said.

"But she's been unconscious for three days," Blitz responded, eyes tearing. "How would she even know the difference?"

"There are four guys here, Blitz! She'll figure it out for herself when she wakes up; one of her first thoughts will be 'have I been groped yet?'!!" Nerve responded.

"I don't get Blitzu either," Rally said with a smile, sweat-dropping as she looked at Hikaru's sleeping face. "They always fight like this."

"What, do you really think she can hear you or something?" Blitz asked.

"Yeah! Did ya ever hear?" Rally asked, holding up fisted hands. "If you talk to someone while they're asleep or in a coma, your words will reach their brain and try to process them so they can hear them and wake up!"

"Who on earth told you that load of crap?!" Blitz asked, his hands on his hips.

"Yusei."

**Yusei: "Right Half."**

"Have you seen these girls?... Hey, can you spare a minute? Have you seen these girls?... You, come on, please help me, have you seen these girls?... Excuse me, I'm looking for these girls; they're my sisters. Have you seen them?"

"Sorry,"

Genji froze, still holding out his picture. Green hair fell into his face before he lifted his head up and stared at the gray skies. He stood his ground, unresponsive as other people began to run for cover; water droplets landed down his cheeks similar to tears.

"Damn it..." he spoke softly, normally. "... Hikaru, Hikari... it's been three weeks, you know..." Genji gave a light, almost involuntary chuckle. "Three long, lonely weeks, without you around to brighten up this dump..." His lips curled up into a smile; he looked like a snapping mad man, standing out in the rain, getting his very few articles of clothing wet. "And you're still not back... what the fuck, Karu, Kari?... Really..." Clutching his head, Genji screamed as he ducked down, curling into a ball on the ruble-like road. _**"WHAT THE FUCK?!?!"**_ he screamed at the top of his lungs. **_"WHAT THE FUUUUUUUUUUUCK?!?!?!"_** he screeched, this time up into the sky.

He could feel the eyes staring at him; burning into his back, into his skin... he wanted to burn them back. His aura was so saddening, so strong, it even brought tears to other people's eyes.

When Genji picked his head back up, he buried his face into his hands. Curling down, smaller, he could feel his hot tears streaming down his cold face, mixing with the icy rain. He shook, sobs working their way up his throat, coming out as strangled noises.

Everyone could see he was only human.

* * *

_**"Rally, I'm coming in, okay?!"**_

Blitz then opened the door, his eyes closed.

"Rally, I need to talk to you a-" He jaw-dropped.

Hikaru blinked, staring back at Blitz. She held a blanket - previously over her body - over her torso, her shirt on the bed. He then looked down at the foot of the bed, and saw Rally had laid his head in his arms and fell asleep. Looking back at Hikaru, he blinked, able to see just the slightest bit of skin from of one of her breasts.

_**"- Gomen nasai, gomen nasai!!"**_ Blitz exclaimed, covering his eyes with his hands, pulling his shirt up by the collar, attempting to cover his face.

"My name is Hikaru," the raven-haired girl said, holding out one of her hands. "What's yours?" she asked, making the bluenette freeze.

Slowly, Blitz peeked out between his fingers from his hands, the cloth of his shirt partially blocking his view.

"Er, uh... watashi wa Blitz," he responded.

Hikaru smiled sweetly, but then she looked Blitz in the eye.

"Where am I?" she asked.

"Uh... the West Domino Subway... this is where I live with a few other guys," Blitz responded. "He's one of them." he said, pointing at Rally.

"... This entire place is a subway?" she asked. "... What's a subway?"

"U-uh... have you been, er... educated?" Blitz asked.

"... I don't know..."

"... Oh boy..." Blitz uttered.

"I'm a girl," Hikaru responded.

"... Stay right there, I'll be right back." Blitz responded, turning and leaving, pulling the door closed by the doorknob behind him.

Hikaru blinked, then shrugged off his odd behavior; who was she to talk? She was their guest...

... As far as she knew.

"Hikaru, I forgot to ask, do you need clean cl-"

Blitz covered his eyes.

"Clean what?" Hikaru asked, facing away from him, but the blanket back on the bed. Her arms were folded behind her head.

"D-d-do you-you-y... do you need clean clothes?" Blitz asked, shaking, his cheeks scarlet red.

"Sure, I suppose... I need something a little warmer than the threadbare things I have," Hikaru responded. "It isn't any trouble?"

"Oh, no! No, not at all! We have... plenty of clothes we keep, cuz... you never know what might happen, and you can make new clothes with them!" Blitz responded, slipping out the door, closing it as he did. "I'll try and find things to fit you..."

"Okay! Thanks a bunch, Blitz-san! I'll repay you one day!" Hikaru said, smiling.

Blitz closed the door, and then let go of his face, blood shooting out of his nostrils.

_"Hentaaaaaaaaai..."_ Nerve sung.

"Shut it, Otouto." Blitz growled.

* * *

"So, you say your name is Hikaru?" Taka asked, pouring tea into chipped porcelain cups.

"Mm-hm." Hikaru responded, nodding. She was now dressed in faded, black sweat pants, a dark pink t-shirt and a dark orange jacket with the sleeves a bit too long for her arms.

"So, Hikaru... where did you come from?" Taka asked, handing her a cup.

"My mother's womb and then out her vag, where else?" Hikaru asked before taking a sip. The tea was hot, but it was a bit weaker than most, saying as they had to conserve their food and other items.

"Uh... that's not exactly what I meant," Taka responded. "I meant, where do you live? Are you from Neo-Domino, do you live here in the Satellite?"

"Can someone be from both?" Hikaru asked, blinking. "Cuz I have no idea."

"Uh... well, someone can be taken from Neo-Domino and forced into the Satellite, that we know for sure." Taka responded.

"But under that circumstance, you'd have a yellow marker on your cheek; like Rally does." Blitz said. In response, Rally stuck out his tongue.

"I'm really surprised at how little you know..." Taka said.

"I think she has amnesia," Blitz responded.

"Nii-san! Be nicey-icy!" Nerve said, elbowing him in the gut.

_"Amnesia..."_ Hikaru repeated slowly, like a little kid. Her hand held her chin. _"Am-ne-sia..."_

"It means you lost your memories," Blitz responded, holding his stomach.

"Oh... I thought you were calling her stupid!" Nerve said.

"You're the stupid one..." the bluenette mumbled.

"Let me ask you this; what do you remember?" Taka asked.

"What does Hikaru remember..." the only female in the room began, her arms crossed, one of her hands on her chin. "Hikaru can remember her name... how to do things... can't remember people, though."

"Can you remember anything from before you woke up? Like, why you were in the ocean?" Rally asked.

"Ocean: a large body of water that surrounds land masses!" Hikaru said.

"Well, at least you're still holding onto your education links." Blitz said.

"... The only thing I really can remember relating to that, is some sort of a weird lingering thought in my head..." Hikaru said, her hand back on her chin. "I think I was looking for someone... someone important..."

"Do you remember having any family?" Blitz asked.

"I... don't know..." she answered, bring her hand down. Accidentally, her pointer finger caught itself onto the chain of her necklace. "Huh?" she said, picking up the half-heart. "_'Big Sis Hikaru'_..." she read off of it.

"So you do have a family!" Rally exclaimed. "All we gots'ta do is find someone with the other half of a necklace like yours!"

"Rally, it isn't as simple as that, you know." Blitz said. "Thousands of people wear those things; how could we ever find the other half to the one Hikaru is wearing?"

"... Aw, and I thought I was on to something..." Rally pouted, kicking the wall lightly.

"It doesn't matter whether or not Hikaru-san has family, she's welcome to stay with us as long as she likes. Right?" Taka asked.

"We could use the light of a lady around this place, so I'm not complaining." Blitz said.

_"Nii-sama likes Hikaru-samaaaaaa..."_ Nerve sung.

"I appreciate your hospitality very much," Hikaru said with a smile. "I'll pull my weight while I'm here, too. I'll help out with cooking and cleaning-"

"What is this cleaning you speak of?" Nerve asked.

"- and getting food and clothes and other things, too!" Hikaru continued on. "Just leave it to Karu-chan!" she exclaimed, holding her fist over her heart.

_Things are certainly going to get interesting around here, now that Hikaru-chan staying with us._ Rally thought.

* * *


	5. Left Half

"You mean to tell me you've only been allowed out of your cell to be transferred to a new one?" Yusei asked Hikari, whom walked closely behind him, Kaoru held in her arms tightly.

"Yeah... that's a'cuz every one always gets afraid of me... they think because of the Tops crimes, that I wanna kill people..." Hikari responded, staring at the floor as she walked; her bare feet were still dirty. Not nearly as dirty as the night she was arrested, but they were still smudged with remnants of dirt, sand and dust. "Every one screams once they know who I am..."

"Come on, you've got to be exagerating, Hikari-chan." Yusei said, pushing open the door to the dueling fields.

_**"Kami!! It's her!!"**_ shouted a blonde-haired male, pointing at Hikari once she was in sight.

Screams and shrieks soon spread out within the arena.

"Okay, I take that back." Yusei responded.

**_"Yusei-sama, hurry and get away from her!!"_** someone exclaimed from the frightened crowd in the corner.

"Would you cool it?" Yusei asked. "Hikari-chan is harmless."

_**"She's a devil, I tell you, devil!!"**_

_**"Kill her!!"**_

"It's useless, Yusei-san..." Hikari sighed, hanging her head. "Nothing will sway their thoughts... believe me, I've tried... and thank you for trying..."

Just as Hikari turned around, a hand grabbed her wrist. Looking back, she saw Yusei's familiar gloved hand on her wrist.

"I won't let you leave that easily," he began, locking his ocean-blue eyes with her ocean-blue eyes. "Hikari-chama."

Yusei then began to walk her towards the others, only to see them shrink down and more into the corner as they could get.

"So, you like to pick on little guys, huh?" Yusei asked. "So then, why don't you pick on me?"

A person stuck in the front rolled his eyes, and fell onto the floor, fainting.

"Go ahead, I dare you." Yusei said, glaring ice-daggers at the scared criminals. He then placed his free hand atop of Hikari's head. "She's as harmless as a fly, I swear to you."

Shaking, looking at the group of men with fearful eyes, Hikari herself was afraid of them.

But somehow, Yusei managed to make everything right.

**Yusei: "Left Half."**

"Still no luck, eh Genji-san?"

"Try bone-picked dry none," Genji responded, sipping his orange soda. "And now three weeks has turned into four weeks, there-go, a month..." he continued, staring down into the hole on his soda can. "Two more weeks, I might have another crying breakdown in the rain again..."

"Don't you worry, I know you'll find your sisters."

"That's easier said than done, Taicho." Genji responded, staring up at the sky. "Hikaru and Hikari could be anywhere by now... some other part of the island, the detention centers in Neo, or they could have drowned or had a room cave in on them and crush them..." Sighing, his blue eyes slipped open. "I'm leaving first thing tomorrow morning. I have the whole Satellite to search. And if I don't find them, well, then I'll just have to keep their memories alive, and I'll set up a mural for them back at home."

"You can barely call that shack you have a home," Taicho, a brunette teen, responded.

"Home is where the heart is," Genji responded. "For me, it's with my sisters; spiritually, or alive."

* * *

"Hikaru! What are you doing up so early?"

"Good morning to you, boys!" Hikaru greeted, stirring something in a pot over the fireplace. "I woke up at about three am and was wide awake... probably from sleeping so much for the past week; thanks for letting me rest, by the way!"

"No problem..." Nerve responded.

"So, I woke up, went for a walk, bought some food with the money I found in my pockets, and decided to cook us a nice breakfast!" Hikaru said, taking the pot by its handle and taking it out of the fireplace.

"What's this, Hikaru-chan?" Rally asked, picking up a black case.

"Oh, that's a guitar!" Hikaru responded. "The guy at the shop said that I could just have it, so I took it!" she finished, beginning to hum as she began arranging food onto plates for everyone.

"Wow, this is impressive, Hikaru-san!" Taka said.

"This place looks so... clean! I no longer feel like it's slowly making me dirty!" Nerve said. "Although, it's a little too late for Nii-san."

"Shut it, Nerve!" Blitz exclaimed.

"What smells so heavenly?" Rally asked.

"I got eggs, rice for fruit-filled onigiri, and even though it isn't a breakfast item, hamburger meat!" Hikaru said, turning around and placing a jug of orange juice onto the table.

"Where'd you find that shirt?" Blitz asked, pointing.

"Hm? Oh, it was in the guitar case. I like it, though!" Hikaru responded. The t-shirt was black, said "Death Note" in white lettering, and had pictures of a few of the characters from it; L, Light, Ryuk, Misa, and Rem. The shirt fit her perfectly, showing the curves of her body, although it was a tad bit baggy.

"I think I like that shirt on you too..." Blitz said.

"Go to the bathroom now if you really need to, Nii-san." Nerve said.

"Hamburger's almost done!" Hikaru said, keeping her eye on another pot hanging over the fire. As she was doing so, she was putting her hair up into two braids. As she did so, she closed her eyes and began to sing.

Hikaru: **_There's a song running through my head,  
Something that somebody said...  
"A lovely summer holiday by the sea,"_**

"That song is really pretty!" Rally said, his eyes glowing.

"Where did you hear it?" Taka asked as they began to sit down.

"Dunno," Hikaru responded, tying a red hair tie at the end of one of her braids. "It's just stuck in my head with a few other things; I know some other songs, too..."

"Come on, lay it on us again." Nerve said.

"Kay!" Hikaru said.

Hikaru: _**There's a song running through my head,  
Something that somebody said...  
"A lovely summer holiday by the sea,"  
That's what they said to me...**_

Hikaru tied the end of her other braid and took the pot from the fire, but continued on singing uninterrupted as she placed the pot onto the counter.

Hikaru: _**In my mind, I hear the words,  
The prettiest words you've ever heard...  
There is an unforgettable treasure,  
A beautiful gift that has no measure...**_

Her eyes closed, Hikaru out-stretched her hand in front of her.

Hikaru: _**There's a picture that I can see...**_

As if frozen in time, Hikaru remained motionless. Slipping her eyes open, confused, she sweat-dropped. Chuckling, she rubbed the back of her head and turned around.

"Gomen nasai... I can't remember the rest..." Hikaru apologized.

"That isn't your fault, Hikaru-chan." Blitz said. "It may just have to do with when you lost your memories,"

"Maybe the last bit of the song is what Hikaru-chan will remember when she regains her memories!" Rally said.

"Aw, Rally..." Nerve cooed, nooging the boy with his fist. "You and your drugs."

_"**Nervuuuuu!!** Hugs, not **druuuuuugs!!**"_ Rally whined, waving his arms in a helpless manner.

"Aw, come on, Rally, a little bit of teasing never hurt anybody." Blitz laughed.

"Tell that to the bullies from when I went to school..." Rally growled, hiding his face in his arms, pouting.

"Aw, Rally-chan, no pouting while Karu-chan's around!" Hikaru cooed, hugging him from behind his chair, laying her head atop of his. "Who's my big boy?" she asked in a baby-talk.

Cracking a smile from his "hiding place", Rally giggled a little.

"I am," he responded, picking his head up with the expression of an ecstatic young child.

"That's right!" Hikaru exclaimed, rubbing the top of his head like you would pet a cat's head. "You're so adorable, you know that?" she asked as she headed back to the counter.

"Nii-san,"

"Hm?" Blitz turned his head at the tug of his shirt sleeve. He saw Nerve looking at him with questioning eyes. "Yeah, Otouto?"

Nerve pulled him closer, and then whispered into his ear:

_"Do you think Hikaru-chan is a mother?"_

* * *

"I can't thank you enough, Yusei-sama..."

"That was nothing, really, Hikari. I just wanted to help you."

"I really wish... that I could have a nii-san like you," Hikari said, smiling. But as soon as she said that, her smile dropped. "But I'm not deserving of a nii-san or nee-chan."

"What makes you think that?" Yusei asked from his cot.

Frowning, Hikari grabbed a hold of her necklace, bringing up the left half of a broken heart, and looking at it.

"I'm the reason why my sister is dead..."

* * *


	6. Free

Blue eyes squinted open, adjusting themselves to the sun shining upon the slumbering face.

"Morning already?..." Genji groaned, sitting up. He stretched, giving off a large yawn. He gave a little wince when one of his silver tongue studs pinched him, and then looked up at the sky. He saw a rare sight for the satellite-inhabitants; not a speck of dirt, dust or clouds in the sky, the sun was shining beauteously, and the entire area was painted bright blue.

Genji smiled - something he had been doing less of lately without his sisters around. Rather than mentally scolding himself for not setting up his tent the night before, he closed his eyes, basking in the warm, natural glow from the sunshine. Unconsciously, he realized how worn and weary he had become. Without his hands, he felt the skin around his eyes had sunken in, darkening, how thinner he had gotten over the course of a month, how less he smiled, even his hair seemed to be less cared for.

But he didn't cry; oh, no. Not again.

He laid back down, letting a small, warm gust of wind blow around him, swaying his green hair like it were grass; that was his role. He was the grass. It grew with the energy from the sun, and bent over during the night, growing, reviving itself, repairing its damages.

If he was the grass, then Hikaru was the sunlight - what he thrived on for strength; and Hikari was the moonlight - what he needed to relax, and know everything was alright.

Without them, he felt that he may not survive.

**Yusei: "Free."**

"- You're letting me go?!" Hikari exclaimed.

"We have to," the officer responded.

"But I thought the judge gave me a life sentence,"

"He did, until a certain officer told us someone got away during the chase after you."

Hikari blinked, looking down.

"She was killed because of it..." she said.

"Officer Ushio will be punished for forcing you to lie about the Tops crimes," the officer said. "You will be cleared of any mars on your permanent record, and we'll have your marks removed."

"- No!" Hikari exclaimed, and then squealed when she slapped her hand over her mouth. "I... I mean, no..." she said, calmer.

"What's the matter? You don't want to get rid of them?" the oddly kind man asked, kneeling down to her level.

"... Removing them would be painful..." Hikari said, not keeping eye contact with the officer.

_Not to mention it would take away the proof of my heavy burden,_ she thought.

Even more oddly, the man smiled, placing one of his hands atop of her head. Blinking, Hikari looked up, a small cherry-red tinge crossing her cheeks and nose.

"Well, if you ever change your mind, you'll be able to speak with any officer about it, okay? Even if it's years from now..."

"Okay..." Hikari responded, her eyes drifting away.

"Go pack your things, okay?" the officer asked.

Confused, Hikari nodded.

"Stay out of trouble from now on, little girl," the officer said, standing back up straight, turning around. "I won't find you back in here again, now, will I?" he asked, sitting back down at his desk.

"No, sir." Hikari responded, already walking back to the door.

"Good,"

* * *

"Did you get the job, Hikaru-chan?" Rally asked.

Nodding as she closed the door behind her, Hikaru smiled.

"Pretty good pay, too!" she responded.

"How much?" Nerve asked.

"919.60 yen an hour," Hikaru responded.

"That much?! That's what we three all get in total!" Blitz exclaimed.

"How did you get offered that much money, Hikaru-chan?" Rally asked.

"I don't know..." she responded, folding her arms behind her head, looking to the side.

_"Chichi chichi oopai..."_ Blitz whispered, staring at her.

"I think I know how..." Nerve said, sweat-dropping at his brother's actions.

"Huh?" Hikaru asked, looking back. "Nani, Nerve-san?"

"Nii-san's thinking hentai thoughts again is all, Karu-chan, it's nothing to be concerned about." Nerve responded.

"Is Blitz-chan feeling poopy-poo-poo?" Hikaru asked, waving a hand in front of the bluenette's face, worry in her eyes. Chewing and sucking on her bottom lip, she waited for an answer from Blitz.

"I-iie... I'm okay," Blitz responded, sweating nervously and profusely. "I think I'm just tired..."

"Tired, are ya?" Hikaru asked, leaning towards him, their faces becoming dangerously close. "I know! Once we get back home, I'll make ya some tea and give ya some yummy fruit juice! That'll make ya feel all better!"

"Y-you really don't need to go through all of that trouble-" Blitz said, his irises narrow like pencil-erasers, glasses slipping down his nose from sweat.

"'S no trouble," Hikaru responded, pulling him into a hug, which made him shiver-twitch in surprise. "Don't you worry, Blitz-chan. I'll take care of you and make you feel all better; yeah! Just leave it to Karu-chan!"

Shaking tensely, Blitz was unable to form a coherent sentence.

"Mm?" Hikaru hummed, pulling their hug apart, and laying the back of her hand against Blitz's tanned forehead. "Blitzy-Blitz-chama, you feel kinda hot..."

"A-are you sure it isn't just you?..." Blitz responded.

_Smooth talking, Nii-san. Smooth,_ Nerve thought, sweat-dropping.

"No, I know it's you!" Hikaru responded. "I may not remember much, but I remember how to identify a fever!" she finished, pulling him into another hug, making his face flush out their tan color and have scarlet completely take over. Cooing in an almost motherly manner, the raven-haired girl stroked the top of his head from his hairline down to his ponytail like he was a cat. "I'll drag you home and put you to bed kicking and screaming if I have to, _Blitzy-Blitz-chamaaaaaaa..._"

Unable to identify why, Blitz felt his face become a little cooler, feeling less tense. His nostrils filled with the scent of peach blossoms - a scent that Hikaru seemed to give off without and kind of shampoo, soap or perfume of any sort. The aroma, though, seemed to spellcast him into drowsiness, which did make him look sick for real, like he wasn't faking it or it had happened by accident.

He just let her arms cradle him to make everything flow down the stream, forgotten.

* * *

"- Yusei!! They're letting you out, too?!"

"They sure are," Yusei responded, sitting on his cot.

"How did you-"

"That duel I had against Takasu," Yusei began. "They are allowing me to leave here; my sister has been cleared as well, so she's leaving, too."

"You have a sister?" Hikari asked. "I never saw her here..."

"Yes, she's right here in this room." Yusei responded, giving a small smile.

Understanding right away, Hikari's cheeks turned bright red, and she turned away.

"I can't be your sister," she said in a quiet voice, practically near tears.

"How come?" Yusei asked.

"B-be-because I'm the r-reason that m-my si-"

"Hush," Yusei said, planting a finger onto her lips. "If I know you as well as I can from how long we've known each other, I know that your sister can only be looking out for you as your guardian angel."

Blinking the tears in her eyes down her cheeks, Hikari sniffled.

"You... you think so?..." Hikari asked.

"I know so," Yusei responded. "Hikari..." he began, pulling her into a hug - surprising the silver-haired girl completely - and held her. "I know you think it's your fault... but, what's done is done, and you can't undo it... think you can handle that?..."

Taking a few moments to summon up the courage to wrap her arms back around Yusei, Hikari nodded.

"Okay... I, I'll try..." she responded.

"I know it will be painful for you, Hikari," Yusei continued. "But I can be there to love you like she did." He paused, feeling her cling to his shoulders. "And Hikari, the only way you can get rid of your pain, no matter how tough it will be, is to set yourself free..."

Still crying, her cheeks tinted red because of it, Hikari could only nod again.

"O-okay..." Hikari sniffled. "... Nii-san..."

* * *


	7. Acoustics

"Where are we going, Nii-san? To the Satellite?"

"No."

"Then where are we going?"

Hikari looked up at Yusei in wonder as she held his right hand in her left, Kaoru hugged in her free arm. Gauze was on both sides of her face now; on her right cheek to cover her wounded cheek, which had the stitches finally removed, but still kept it covered up for fear of it bleeding again. On her left cheek, gauze covered her yellow markers.

"Himuro gave me the name of a friend of his," Yusei responded. "I need his help with something."

"Who is he?" Hikari asked.

"Saiga is his name,"

"What do you need his help with?"

"I can't say right now, but as soon as we meet with him, I'll be sure to inform you, alright?" Yusei asked.

"... Okay, Nii-san..." Hikari responded, looking down at her feet. No longer were they bare. She wore white tights to cover her feet and legs, and upon her feet were what looked like brand-new white dress-shoes that closed with a strap. The clasp of each end of the straps had a small, red flower on it, and she felt proud to "parade" around in them.

It was like walking step-by-step into her new life.

**Yusei: "Acoustics."**

"You're certainly a new face around here,"

"Yeah..."

Genji kept his conversing to a minimum as he browsed the items in the shop.

"Traveling, are you? It's rare to find someone of that nature in these parts," the shopkeeper said, who a man who was balding with grayish hair.

"I'm searching, not traveling," Genji responded, deciding to pick up a few apples; a red one, a yellow one that only had two bruises on it, and three green ones.

"Searching, are you? Interesting..."

"It isn't soul-searching, it's sister-searching." Genji responded before the shopkeeper could question further.

"Might I ask what your name is?"

Giving a rough sigh with a package of pre-made onigiri in his hand, Genji looked up.

"Genji; my friends call me Genji."

"What's your real name?"

"None of your damn business, that's for sure..." Genji mumbled.

"So, what is it you mean by sister-searching?"

"Do I have to spell everything out for old men?!" Genji snapped. "My sisters went missing over a month ago, and no one believes that they're still alive aside from me! I'm searching the entire Satellite to find them now, or at least find out if they're alive!" Giving a rough sigh, Genji glared. "Why is everyone always so damn nosy?!"

"Missing, are they?"

Genji face-palmed.

What was the point?

**Really?**

"Yes, they're missing..." Genji answered.

"I wouldn't worry too much," the shopkeeper responded, still unfazed by Genji's anger out-bursts and bad mood. "I think that if you care enough to search for them within this entire island, you'll at least find an answer. Who knows," he began, looking at Genji's hands as he picked up more onigiri, grabbed bottled water, and other various food and supplies, placing them onto the counter. "Maybe they'll be in the most unexpected place."

"Yeah, whatever..."

* * *

"Good morning, Blitzy-chan! Feelin' any better?"

"... What is it that you're doing, Karu-chan?"

"Playin' mah guitar,"

Blitz blinked.

Hikaru was oblivious to the fact that the bluenette stared almost directly into her eyes. Chewing on her lips, she just kept on smiling, eyes glazed over with impenetrable happiness. Her fingers strummed over the strings of the acoustic guitar she had obtained, producing happy, pretty notes from the hollowed body's echoing vibrations. Her whole body swayed, humming happily as she felt a somewhat odd warm, tingling sensation developing from the pit of her stomach.

"So ya feelin' better, Blitz-chan?" Hikaru asked, keeping up her playing.

"I think I just need to rest a little more..." Blitz responded, pulling up one of the chairs from the table.

"Hikaru knows what will help Blitzy-Blitz-chama feel all better!" Hikaru exclaimed.

"Huh?" the bluenette asked as he sat down diagonally across from the girl.

Hikaru's smile became smaller, and her ocean blue eyes slipped closed. Her happy, undisturbed strumming became softer, almost hypnotic.

Hikaru: _**In the green of early autumn,  
At the foot of a tree...**_

"Nani?"

Stopping mid-strum, Hikaru opened her eyes, smiling her sweet smile.

"It's another song I just remembered this morning," Hikaru began. "My memory isn't the best, but I think it's meant to be sung to make someone feel better."

"Wow," Blitz said, his eyes shining behind his thin-rimmed spectacles.

No sooner after she had explained it did Hikaru return to her singing stance.

Hikaru: _**Violets are scattered, and pansies bloom...  
Purple-petaled, and blue...**_

The blue-haired male found his own eyes drifting closed, a smile curving his lips into a smile, lighting up his semi-paled face.

Hikaru: _**In the green of early autumn,  
At the foot of a tree...  
Violets are scattered, and pansies bloom...  
Purple-petaled, and blue...**_

"Daijobu, Blitzu-chama?"

Snapping out of his "dream world", Blitz's eyes opened halfway.

"Huh?"

Smiling, their faces close together, Hikaru looked into his eyes.

"Feelin' better at all?" she asked, oblivious to how Blitz was blushing.

"Ha-hai, Hikaru-chan..." he squeaked out.

Leaning forwards, her eyes slipping closed, Hikaru pressed her forehead against Blitz's, which nearly made his heart jump up into his throat.

"You still feel really warm, ya do, Blitzy," Hikaru said, pulling her face away from his, opening her eyes. "Why don't you go back to bed?... I'll stay here and look after you today, and I'll bring you something to eat in a little while."

"I-I... no, I can't miss work... we need all of the money we can get," Blitz responded.

"C'mon, with the salary I started to get, you can manage a day," Hikaru responding, standing up, pulling him up to his feet by underneath his shoulders.

Sighing, Blitz knew he couldn't fight this with Hikaru. After all, she did always seem to know best.

* * *


	8. Message In A Bottle

"Stay here, Hikari,"

Blinking, looking around in the rather dark room, Hikari looked back at Yusei.

"Nii-san, what's-"

"Don't worry about that right now, alright?"

Confused, Hikari approached the door, which flooded the orange glows of sunset into the room.

"Nii-san," she began again. "Where are you going?" she asked, looking up with her innocent, blue eyes up into Yusei's own blue eyes.

"Listen to me carefully, okay?" Yusei asked, leaning down to her level. "I have somewhere to go, something to take care of."

"You're leaving? Where to?"

"Don't worry, I won't be gone forever," he began, placing a hand onto her shoulder. "You and Kaoru just have to lay low here for a little while. I will come back,"

"You promise?"

Blinking once, Yusei smiled a small smile.

"Of course," Catching Hikari by surprise, he quickly planted a small kiss onto her cheek. "You can count on it, okay?"

"Okay..." Catching Yusei by surprise, she flung her arms around his neck, all of a sudden beginning to sob. "Nii-san..."

"What's the matter?" Yusei asked.

"... Promise me you'll come back..." Hikari whispered.

"Hikari, I promise to you that I will come back," Yusei said in the most trusting voice he could muster. "I won't leave you alone like this."

"Nii-san..." Hikari began, fisting the back of Yusei's jacket, sniffling. "... If I lose you, then... I'll have no one left..."

Her words persuaded Yusei to wrap his arms tightly around the small girl's body.

"It's okay to cry... I understand," Yusei responded. "Stay here, and get some well-deserved rest, alright? Saiga will look after you for me until I come back,"

Sniffling, Hikari loosened her grip.

"... Okay, Nii-san..." she responded in a sleepy tone.

"Go take a nice, long rest now, okay?" Yusei asked, placing his hands on her shoulders, pulling out of her hug. "And remember, don't leave here without Saiga."

Hikari nodded, holding Kaoru closely to her.

"When will you be back?" she asked.

"A few days at the very most, that much I can promise." Yusei responded. "You take care of yourself while I'm gone, okay?"

"Okay..."

"Yusei, come on, we better hurry along," Saiga's voice said from outside. "We can't start it too late, otherwise Security will catch us."

"I'll be right there, Saiga-san," Yusei responded, picking Hikari up, and quickly traveling over to the bed in the corner of the room.

"Nii-san," Hikari began as Yusei sat her down. "Please be careful; okay?"

"I will," Yusei responded. "And I'll see what I can do about getting you some new clothes, alright? Something that'll make you look cute with your new shoes,"

Hikari smiled, then rubbed her eyes as she let out a yawn.

"Be a good girl while I'm gone, now," Yusei said, heading back to the door as she laid down, crawling under the blankets.

"Be safe, Nii-san..." Hikari managed to say loudly enough for him to say as her eyes drifted closed.

She was asleep before Yusei closed the door behind himself.

**Yusei: "Message In A Bottle."**

"Have you seen these girls? - Excuse me, ma'am, have you seen these girls?"

"Sorry, no,"

"Sir, have you seen these girls? - Excuse me, have you seen these girls? - Sir, have you seen these girls?"

"I've seen her," he said, pointing to Hikaru in Genji's photograph.

"- You've seen her?!" Genji asked. "Oh, Kami, Kami above, arigatou!!" he exclaimed. "Where have you seen her?"

"She works at the recycling plant," the man responded. "She lives with a few other workers there; makes a salary that's a mockery to the rest of ours - must be from that bust of hers... oblivious girl, I tell ya."

"Where do they live?!" Genji asked, feeling antsier.

"West Domino Subway, down there," he responded, pointing down the street. "You can't miss it."

"Arigatou!!" Genji exclaimed before he ran down the street, his photograph clutched tightly in his hand.

_I can't believe it... you're here, you're really here!!_

* * *

"Saiga-kun,"

"Yes, Hikari, is it?"

Nodding, Hikari looked up at him.

"I was wondering... the ocean; is it close to here?" she asked.

"Fairly close, I'd say," he responded. "What for?"

Bouncing on her feet for a moment, Hikari took from behind her back a green, glass bottle. Seen within it was a rolled-up piece of paper.

"I gotta send this to the Satellite," she responded. "It's for-"

"Say no more," Saiga responded, cutting her off. "We'll go there now; the waves are rough now, so it should approach the shores within the next two days."

Smiling, Hikari nodded.

"Okay!"

"You'll need this," Saiga said, tossing her what appeared to be a silver-colored cloak.

"What for?" Hikari asked, holding it in her hands, staring at it.

"You can never be too careful here," Saiga responded. "Put it on."

Feeling her emotions bubbling like witches' brew in a cauldron within her stomach, Hikari pulled the semi-worn out fabric over her head, adjusting the neck to keep from hanging too loosely, pulling the hood over her head. She adjusted it so that her arms would be hidden, keeping her bottle and Kaoru out of sight.

_Genji,_ she thought, slipping her feet into her shoes before following Saiga out the door. _Please don't be angry with me..._

* * *

"Guess what I found at the store earlier today, Rally-chan,"

"What is it?" Rally asked as Hikaru laid plates with their supper food out on the table.

"Tada!" she exclaimed, holding up a box of soda cans. "Rally Cola!"

"Rally Cola?! Awesome!" Rally exclaimed as Hikaru handed him a can of the soda. "I have a soda named after me!"

_**"HIKARUUUUUU!!!"**_

"Huh?" Hikaru asked, picking her head up, looking towards the hallway. "What was that?"

**_"HHHIIIIIIKKKAAAAAARRRUUUUUU!!!"_**

Blinking, Hikaru placed down the box, and headed out the doorway.

"Hikaru-chan?" Rally asked, pushing himself from his seat and following after her.

**_"HIKARU!!!"_**

"Excuse me,"

Blinking, Genji looked to the left. Eyes widening, he gasped.

"Can I... can I help you with anything?" Hikaru asked, one of her hands kept on the door frame.

Feeling a tightening feeling in his chest cavity, Genji faced her forwards. Shaking, he thought he would almost lose grip on his picture.

"Hi-Hikaru?..." he asked.

Giving an unsure smile, Hikaru nodded.

"That's me..."

Losing himself completely, Genji ran forwards, practically ramming Hikaru into the wall in the hallway, the photo drifting onto the floor. Letting his tears fall freely, Genji held Hikaru closely to himself, tightly in his arms.

"Hikaru - oh Kami, Hikaru!! I never thought I'd see you again!! Jesus, it's a miracle!!" he cried, shaking as he held her close. "Imoto..."

Blinking, her arms pinned to her sides, Hikaru did her best to look at Genji's face.

"Hikaru-Nee-chan," came Rally's voice.

Looking down the hall, Hikaru spotted Rally on the opposite end of the hall.

"What's going on?" Rally asked, confusion in his eyes.

"I... don't know..." Hikaru responded.

Holding Hikaru by the shoulders, Genji pulled back, looking into her eyes.

"Hikaru, don't you remember?" he asked. "It's me; it's Genji - Setsuna!!" he exclaimed. "You-you love teasing me about my girlish name, I like picking fun about you and Hikari, and-and... I'm your older half-brother!"

Blinking, Hikaru did her best to process what Genji had spouted out.

"... I-I... I'm sorry, but..." Hikaru began. "I can't... remember you..."

* * *

Walking backwards, the sun almost gone to bed, Hikari kept as close to Saiga as she could. When he turned around, so did she. Looking around, Hikari pulled out her bottle.

Leaning over the railing, Hikari out-stretched her arm, dropping the green bottle into the teal waters. Within moments, she could already see it being carried away several meters by the harsh waves.

_Please, Genji, receive my message..._

When Saiga then turned around, heading back the way they had come, Hikari quickly followed after him, holding Kaoru tightly in her arms.

_Gomen nasai, Setsuna-Nii-san..._

* * *


	9. Painful Memories

"Genji... who exactly are you?" Taka asked.

"I'm like I said; I'm Hikaru's older half-brother." Genji responded. "Can't you see it?"

"I can see it with the eyes, that's for sure..." Blitz said.

"Genji-sama,"

Genji blinked, seeing that Rally held out his photograph.

"You dropped this," Rally said.

Giving a nod, Genji out-stretched his arm to take a hold of the photo.

"Thank you," Genji responded.

"Hikaru-chan? Are you okay?" Nerve asked.

Turning his head almost immediately, Genji saw Hikaru standing by the wall. Her forehead rested on the wall, and she was shaking.

"I can't remember... I can't remember..."

**Yusei: "Painful Memories."**

Wincing, her eye lids wriggling, Hikari groaned.

"_Saiga-kuuuuuuuun_, turn down the television..." she mumbled, waving a hand. "It's too earlysu..."

"Sorry, Hikari-chama. I didn't mean to wake you,"

Blue eyes popping open, Hikari immediately felt awake. She then sprung up in bed, and looked forwards.

Yusei smiled at her.

"Sleep well?"

"Nii-san!!" Hikari exclaimed, kicking the blankets off. "You're back!!" she said, jumping over the railing to where Yusei was working on his D-Wheel. "You came back!!" she exclaimed, hugging him tightly, nearly knocking him over, and most certainly knocking the wind out of him.

"Careful, Chiisana Hikari," Yusei responded, hugging her back. "You wouldn't want me to get hurt, would you?"

"I missed you, a whole lotsu!" Hikari said.

"You sure do seem to be in a good mood," Yusei said, placing his hand atop of her head as he pulled out of her hug.

"I'm feeling a lot better than I have been lately," Hikari responded, a smile brightening up her cute face.

"I got something for you," Yusei said, standing up as he reached into his back pocket.

"You did?" Hikari asked, blinking.

"Sure did; and like I said, I did manage to get you some new clothes."

Hikari smiled, her eyes shimmering with happiness.

"Nii-sama's so kindsu," Hikari responded.

"Why don't you go try them on?" Yusei asked, his left hand digging through one of his side pockets, his right hand digging around in his back pockets. "I... can't... seem to... remember... where I left the..."

"You okay, Nii-san?" Hikari asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Uh," Yusei took out his left hand, and pointed at a toolbox. "Clothes are in the plastic bag on that toolbox..."

"Okay," Hikari responded. "Thank you so much, Onii-sama!"

Yusei smiled.

"You're very welcome,"

* * *

"You can't remember anything, can you?"

"It isn't Hikaru-chan's fault,"

"Huh?" Rally asked. "What do you mean, Blitzu-chan?"

"Remember? She has amnesia," Blitz said.

"She isn't stupid, Nii-san!" Nerve said, kicking him in the shin.

**_"- Don't you remember anything, baka?!"_** Blitz shrieked, jumping up and down, clutching his injured leg. **_"Amnesia means you've lost your memories!"_**

"Oh... right!"

"That's right!" Hikaru said, picking her head up. "... Wait, that isn't a good thing..."

"Hikaru, please, you've got to try and remember," Genji began, pulling his photo from his jeans pocket. "See right here? In this picture, that little girl with the teddy bear?" he asked, holding out his hand.

Hikaru blinked, looking down at the picture.

"That's our baby sister; our sister, Hikari. You and her were born from the same mother," Genji said. "I, on the other hand, have the same father as you, only I had a different mother, and our mothers were sisters. Hikaru, you were born with a younger twin brother, who went missing a while back. You and Hikari always searched for him here in the Satellite, despite the fact that we suffered memory loss in an accident and can't remember what he looks like or anything else."

_"Hi-ka-ri..."_ Hikaru repeated, her eyes locked onto Hikari's stilled body within the photograph.

"Hikaru, the day that I last saw you, you and Hikari went off to search parts of the Satellite you hadn't ever gone to," Genji began. "That was the last time I saw you... until today. You said, _'Setsuna-Nii-san! We're off to search for Twinny-chan! If we miss supper, no worries! We'll be okay!'_... and then you never came home. I've spent over a month looking for the both of you..."

"... That day..." Hikaru began. "I-I thought, I... I did have this feeling I was looking for something," she continued. "But, I... couldn't remember what..."

"Hikaru, onegai, Imoto-chan," Genji began, placing his free hand onto her shoulder. "Try to remember..."

Two seconds later, Hikaru squeezed her eyes shut, and began to sing with what appeared to be fear in her voice...

Hikaru: _**There's a song running through my head,  
Something that somebody said...**_

_**"Sissy-cha, wait up, please!!"**_

_**"Sorry, Lil' Light!"**_

Hikaru: _**"A lovely summer holiday by the sea,"  
That's what they said to me...**_

_**"Why, oh why does it have to be so scary?!"**_

_**"Don't worry, Hikari! I'll be sure to get you to safety! I promise! We'll be safe, and together forever! I promise!"**_

**_"Thanks, Hikaru-Sissy-cha!"_**

Hikaru: _**In my mind, I hear the words,  
The prettiest words you've ever heard...**_

_**"Lil' Light, take my hand!!"**_

_**"I can't reach!!"**_

_**Explosion.**_

Hikaru: _**There is an unforgettable treasure,  
A beautiful gift that has no measure...**_

_**"HIKARIIIIIIII!!!"**_

Hikaru: _**There's a picture that I can see...**_

_**"HIKARUUUUUUUU!!!"**_

_**"GENJI!!!"**_ Hikaru screeched, throwing her arms around him, nearly tackling him down.

"I-I-Imoto!... You remember?!" Genji asked, his back hitting the wall, wrapping his arms back around her.

Burying her face into his shirt, Hikaru neared hysterical sobs.

"Sh-sh-s-s-she-she's..." Hikaru stuttered, tears wetting Genji's clothing.

"Huh? What is it?" Genji asked.

"She's... she's... gone!!" Hikaru screamed.

"Na-nani? What do you mean?" Genji asked.

"Hi-Hikari... she's gone..." Hikaru stuttered. "It's all my fault..."

"Wh-where is she? What happened?!" Genji asked.

"W-w-we-we-we..." Hikaru began. "... Th-tha-th-that night, we... we broke into... into the Tops in Neo-Domino!"

"- You did what?!" Genji exclaimed.

"We-I-we-I... I... I thought I could remember something... a vague, lingering thought, about... about Otouto..." Hikaru began, shaking, holding Genji closely as she cried into his chest. "So... we snuck onto a trash-delivering boat, and road across the water to Neo-Domino... we disguised ourselves, and we... broke into the Tops by disabling their security computer systems - the way you taught us..."

"I knew that would come around and bite me on the ass some day..." Genji mumbled.

"And then, when people caught two hooded figures, they called Security, but when Hikari and I fled down back down to the city and ran for the docks, it started to rain..." Hikaru said. "When we reached the docks again, the trash boat had only just left, so we were going to follow it, but the waters were really rough... so I climbed into a row boat, threw a rope at the boat and was able to be pulled after it. Hikari tried to grab my hand, but she couldn't reach... and then..."

"And then... what?" Genji asked.

"I heard an explosion, and my grip slipped, and I screamed..." Hikaru said. "I knocked my head and fell unconscious... and, and the explosion..."

"What?! What was it?!" Genji asked.

_**"Hikari was shot and killed!!"**_ Hikaru screeched, her sobbing building back up. "My fault... it was all my fault!!" she exclaimed, falling down onto her knees, crying into her hands. "Hikari... my precious Lil' Light, she's gone forever!! It's all my fault, all my fault!! Gomen nasai, gomen nasai, Setsuna-Nii-chama!!" Hikaru fell over, crying into her arms. _"Hikari... **HIKARIIIIII!!!**"_

"Hikaru-Onee-chan..." Rally whispered.

_"H-Hi-Hikari..."_ Genji uttered, dropping down onto his knees, a distant look in his eyes. "Aka-chan Imoto..." Laying his hands on the floor, he hung his head. "Sh-she's... she's gone?... Hikaru, are you certain?..."

"Y-yes," Hikaru responded. "I saw blood... she screamed when I did... if only I had grabbed her and pulled her down with me when I lassoed the boat... then maybe we would have ended up with amnesia together, at least have remembered each other... but..."

_"Hikari..."_ Genji breathed out. Shaking, but finding the strength to pick up his hand, he looked at his photo again; he studied Hikari's face. Her smile, shining eyes, adorable aura; how her tiny hands were holding Kaoru tightly as she hugged him. He knew this was the girl who longed to help her only sister find their brother - his own younger brother.

In the end, it had been the death of her.

"I can't believe it... that I'll never see here again..." Genji whispered, lifting up his other hand to touch her photographed face. "Those innocent, little eyes..."

Hugging herself, hunched over, Hikaru continued to let her tears fall, feeling complex emotions over-flowing her system for the first time in weeks.

"She's all I ever wanted..." she whispered. "Hikari... I practically raised her after our momma died... but I... I'm what took her away from me..."

Blitz: _**In the green of early autumn,  
At the foot of a tree...**_

"Huh?" Rally asked, looking up at Blitz. "What are you doing, Blitzu-chan?"

"It's what Hikaru sung to me when I was sick," Blitz responded. "She said it's supposed to make people feel better."

Blitz: _**Violets are scattered, and pansies bloom...  
Purple-petaled, and blue...**_

Blitz and Rally: _**In the green of early autumn,  
At the foot of a tree...  
Violets are scattered, and pansies bloom...  
Purple-petaled, and blue...**_

The singing turned out to be more hypnotic than planned, because as the sobs faded from the two siblings, soft snoring faded in.

All together: **_In the green of early autumn,  
At the foot of a tree...  
Violets are scattered, and pansies bloom...  
Purple-petaled, and blue..._**

* * *

Hikari twirled in front of the mirror, trying to catch glimpses of how she looked in the clothes Yusei had obtained for her. It was only one outfit, but it surely was enough to make her feel special enough to have a nii-san like him.

Yusei found himself smiling at her actions.

Looking at her reflection normally, Hikari almost couldn't believe she was looking at the broken, little girl that was her own self. Thanks to Saiga, she had been given the luxury of bathing in a bathtub - let alone a room indoors - so she was no longer covered with a thin layer of dirt. Hikari did regret looking into the mirror without gauze on her cheeks. All she could see were the marks that would keep her shunned from society - as if she hadn't already been shunned enough.

_I look too fake, like a painted porcelain doll..._ she thought.

The ugly, jagged, poorly-healing scar on her right cheek only reminded her of how she had last seen Hikaru; upset, helpless, reaching out...

Hikari spun one more time, letting her white skirt fan out and then drop back down.

She saw her smiling face...

_**"Lil' Light, you just look so adorable I wanna eat you up!"**_

_**"Ah ha ha ha!! Sissy-cha, that tickles!! `Su!!"**_

_**"Kawaii momo wo mitsukechatta! Nadatte hoshigacchau!"**_

_**"Girls, girls! Calm down, would ya? You're gonna make the entire Satellite go wacko!"**_

_**"Setsuna-Nii-san wants to be tickled too, Sissy-cha!"**_

_**"Oh, does he now?"**_

_**"- SHIT!!! Aw, come on, Hikari!! No fair!!"**_

_**"Aw, quit being such a baby, Nii-sama!"**_

_**"Setsu-chan's a baby!!"**_

_**"Damn it, Karu!! Quit callin' me that!!"**_

_**"Aw, come on, Genj, we're only having fun. Loosen up a bit, bro!"**_

_**"You two just love getting into trouble, don't you?"**_

_**"Hey, with you there to bail us out all of the time, it's our favorite hobby!"**_

_**"HIKARU!!! WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU ABOUT OUR INFLUENCES ON HIKARI?!?!"**_

_**"Sorry, Setsuna-Nii-san!!"**_

Her hand upon the mirror, touching her reflection's hand, Hikari's head was hung, trying not to look at the baby pink sweater she was now wearing.

**_"You just look so adorable I wanna eat you up!... Kawaii momo wo mitsukechatta! Nadatte hoshigacchau!..."_**

_Sissy-cha..._

"Hikari... are you okay?"

Jerking her head up, Hikari had almost forgotten Yusei had been there. Try as she might, she couldn't hide the tears that had already been present in her eyes.

"... Sissy-cha..."

Barely expecting it to surprise her, Hikari soon found herself within Yusei's arms.

"Go ahead... it's alright," Yusei said, letting her bury her face in his shoulder and neck. "You can cry... just cry... it's okay,"

"I'm the worst person who ever lived..." Hikari sobbed. "I killed my own sister!"

_"Sssh, sssh, ssssssssshhhhhh..."_ Yusei hushed. "We all have our burdens, we do, Hikari..."

"... I can never forgive myself..." Hikari sniffled.

Yusei: _**Twirling, whirling, round we go.  
Twirling high, and twirling low.  
Twirling round we go...**_

Hikari's eyes widened, and she pulled away.

"Wh-what is... that?..." she asked.

"It's a song," Yusei responded. "I can't really remember where I heard it, but I just sing it sometimes because it makes me feel safe and happy. It's a little cute and a bit silly,"

Yusei: _**Twirling, whirling, round we go.  
Twirling fast, and twirling slow.  
Twirling round we go...**_

_**Twirling, whirling, round we go.  
Twirling high, and twirling low.  
See the colors skip and flow...**_

_**See the ribbons as they blow...  
Twirling round we go...**_

"... Twinny-chan..." Hikari uttered.

* * *

_Knock knock knock._

"It's open..."

Turning the knob and opening the door, Rally poked his head inside. He saw Hikaru sitting against the pillows on her bed, Genji sitting across from her. Pushing the door open with his shoulder, Rally stepped inside, holding a wooden tray with food on it.

"Hi, Hikaru-chan, Genji-san," Rally greeted softly. "... Taka-chama made dinner. I thought I'd bring you guys some," he said, approaching the bed.

"Thanks, Ralls..." Hikaru responded unenthusiastically.

Starting to feel down himself, Rally placed the tray onto the bedside table.

"So, you can remember everything now? What you had forgotten when we found you, Onee-chan?" Rally asked.

"Yeah, I do..." Hikaru responded. "... It's all my fault..."

"Are you okay?" Rally asked.

"... Yeah..." Hikaru responded. "... I don't know..."

"... You need to be alone for a while, guys?" Rally asked. He then blinked when he found Hikaru's hand atop of his head.

"I'd know that tone anywhere, Rally..." Hikaru began, picking her head up. She then looked over at Rally with her sore-from-crying eyes. "Is there something you want to tell us?..."

"You know me too well, Nee-chan..." Rally responded.

"Well, shoot... what is it?" Hikaru asked, gaining a small twinkle in her eye.

"... I just wanted to say, from all of us, that..." Rally began. "You and Genji-san... you will always have a home here... with us..." He sniffled, bringing his sleeve to his eyes. "Aw, man, I promised myself I wouldn't cry..."

"It's okay..."

"Huh?" Rally asked, suddenly finding himself being pulled up into Hikaru's embrace.

"It's alright to cry... it's best that everyone does, rather than just holding it in... we all have our burdens..." Hikaru said.

"... Hikaru-chan..." Rally began. "... You remind me of Yusei-Nii-san."

"Hm? Who?" Hikaru asked.

Pulling away, Rally smiled at her.

"Yusei; Fudo Yusei." Rally responded. "He lived here with me and Takaku-chan, Blitzu-chan, and Nervu-chan. We all lived in the Satellite orphanage together at some point, and when we were let out, we all made our home here. And... this was his bedroom."

"... What happened to him, Rally-chan?" Hikaru asked.

"Well, you know the turbo-duelist king, Atlas Jack?" Rally asked. "Well, he - believe it or not - originated from the Satellite, here, and he lived here with Yusei and us, but then he stole Yusei's D-Wheel and his most favorite card, Stardust Dragon, ran to Neo-Domino, and began his dueling career. So, Yusei built another D-Wheel, and about a month ago, he escaped to Neo-Domino to find Jack and duel him."

"That was a long story..." Hikaru responded.

"... You know, there was always this song Yusei-Nii-san would sing when I was still really little," Rally began, smiling. "The way you'd always be singing reminded me of him, I think. Wanna hear the song he'd always sing? It always makes me feel better, even when I sing it myself!"

Finding herself smiling, Hikaru nodded.

"That sounds like it would be nice..." she responded.

Smiling, Rally closed his eyes, and folded his hands beneath his chin.

Rally: _**Twirling, whirling, round we go.  
Twirling high, and twirling low.  
Twirling round we go...**_

_**Twirling, whirling, round we go.  
Twirling fast, and twirling slow.  
Twirling round we go...**_

_**Twirling, whirling, round we go.  
Twirling high, and twirling low.  
See the colors skip and flow...**_

_**See the ribbons as they blow...  
Twirling round we go...**_

"Rally..."

Rally opened his eyes, meeting the shocked faces of Hikaru and Genji.

"... That's my song..." Hikaru uttered.

* * *


	10. Arm Pain

"- Yusei!! Hey there!"

"Lua! I'm so glad to see you!"

"You are?" the sea-foam green-haired boy asked.

"Yeah! Have you seen a little girl around here?" Yusei asked. "She's about your height, she has silver hair, and blue eyes!"

"- Oh, yeah!! I've seen her!!" Lua responded.

"Where is she?!" Yusei asked, almost in a panicking voice.

"Uh, my friend Hayano Tenpei and her went to go get us milkshakes while we wait for the Black Rose Witch to show up," Lua said. "They'll be back here in a jiffy, I know it!"

"Oh, thank Kami..." Yusei sighed.

"... Wait, how is it that you know her?" Lua asked.

"She's my younger sister," Yusei responded.

"- She is?! I had no idea!!"

"Where's Luka?"

"She didn't wanna come along with Tenpei-chan and I," Lua responded. "She's such a baby..."

"You know, this is a dangerous place for little kids to be hanging around, Lua," Yusei said.

"Tell that to Hikari-chan," Lua responded. "If it weren't for me and Tenpei-chan, she'd still be being pushed around through the dueling crowds." He then whistled a few notes, bouncing on his toes. "And just between you and me, Ten-chan's got a bit of a crush on her."

Lua then began to giggle as Yusei left out a large sigh.

**Yusei: "Arm Pain."**

"I can't believe it... it's him; it really is him!" Hikaru said, her hands shaking and barely able to keep a hold of the photograph in her grasp.

"Onee-chan... I had no idea you were Yusei's onee-chan, too!" Rally said. "That's so... cool!"

"I can't believe it..." Hikaru breathed. "All of this time, he's only been a distance away... how is it I never found him before?..."

"The Satellite is a pretty large island, Imoto, it's understandable," Genji said.

"I thought Yusei said his family perished in an accident..." Taka said.

"Say what?" Hikaru asked, picking her head up. "Accident?"

"Y-yeah... his family died in it... and he survived." Taka responded.

"Come to think of it, he did only say it was his parents who perished... that they were his only family..." Blitz said, his hand on his chin.

"Setsuna, it's all tied together now!" Hikaru exclaimed, jumping up onto her feet. "We suffered memory loss during the accident, so we couldn't even remember what my precious little Twinny-chan looked like, Yusei had said that his family died in an accident and could only remember his parents... we were only separated! He's been alive here in the Satellite the entire time, not in the Tops where we used to be!"

"Yusei... I wonder when he'll come back next," Rally said. "Hikaru-Onee-chan, he'll be so glad to meet you!"

"I dunno, Ralls, Yuse is rather stoic." Blitz said.

"This is family we're talking about, Blitzu-chan!" Rally said, stomping his foot down firmly. "I mean, come on! You and Nervu-chan are older and younger brother to one another, and despite all of the little rivalries you hold, you love each other dearly!"

"Deep down, every one loves their siblings." Hikaru said. "... Kami, if Hikari were here, she'd be thrilled that we've finally found Twinny-chan..."

"Aw, Karu..." Taka said.

"And to think she died trying to find him..." Genji said, crossing his arms, eyes filled with remorse.

"... Onee-chan, I think Hikari-chan helped you find Yusei-Nii-san!" Rally said.

"Huh?" Hikaru asked, her and Genji picking up their heads.

"What do you mean, Rally?" Genji asked.

"Think about it! If you had never ended up here, you would have never heard me sing that song, and then you would have never figured out that Yusei was your brother!" Rally said. "You know what? I bet her tenshi is shining down on you guys, and that's how you both were brought here, Hikaru without memories, Genji looking for her and Hikari. I bet she helped you all the way through..."

Managing to smile again, Hikaru brought a hand to her eyes, wiping away her tears again.

"Thanks, Rally... you have no idea how much that means to me..." Hikaru responded. "I never thought of it like that; Hikari among the tenshi..."

"Can you see her up there, blending in with all of the tenshi?" Genji asked, looking over at Hikaru. "Playing Peter Pan with Archangel Michael,"

"Or picking flowers with St. Teresa," Hikaru added.

"Giggling with Tenshi Gabriel," Genji said.

"And causing trouble all over the clouds," Hikaru said.

"All under your momma and our papa's watchful eyes," Genji said, smiling. "Heck, maybe with my momma, too."

Smiling again, Hikaru nodded.

"I may miss her a lot... but Hikari is in the best place she can be right now," Hikaru said. "A place where she's free from suffering..."

"I guess she lived as much as she possibly could have," Genji said. "We were lucky to have had a little miracle like here."

"And now, she can make miracles happen herself..." Hikaru said.

Genji smiled again, nodding.

"She's one with the sky; where a moon should be."

* * *

"We're back, Lua-chan!"

"Nani? Nii-san? What are you doing here?"

"There you are, Hikari!" Yusei said, kneeling down to her level. "Why'd you just up and run off like that? Saiga, Himuro, Yanagi and I have been scanning the entire area for you; I was so worried!"

"I'm so sorry, Nii-san! The note I left must have gotten lostsu..." Hikari responded. "- You were worried?" she asked, picking her head up.

"Of course I was! You just disappeared,"

"I was getting bored being stuck indoors," Hikari said. "And I had heard these duelists outside this morning talking about how this mysterious duelist called the Black Rose Witch was going to show up here today, and I just got so curious and antsy waiting, that I just decided to head out on my own."

Giving off a sigh of relief, Yusei stood up, his hands on his hips.

"I suppose I should lay the blame on my own shoulders," Yusei said, his eyes closed. "After all, I have been being a little negligent lately getting ready for the Fortune Cup, what with my D-Wheel and all,"

"No, I should have remembered to listen to what you had said, and not have wandered off on my own..." Hikari said, her hand on right cheek, over the gauze. "I got bumped around so much I started to bleed again; I had to go to the restroom to wash it and change it..."

"But how come your other cheek didn't start to bleed?" Lua asked.

"- I, uh, I am not really sure..." Hikari responded, rubbing the back of her head. "I think my right cheek was just busted a little more badly... it's more sensitive, so, it's taking longer to heal than my left one..."

"How was it you hurt your face, again?" Tenpei asked, holding the milkshakes on a cardboard holder.

"I, uh... fell on some rocks..." Hikari responded. "I hit my head when it happened, so I can't really remember it too clearly..."

"Oh," Tenpei said. He then pushed his glasses up his nose. "Well, you should be more careful, Kari-chan."

"Yeah, I am..." Hikari responded. "It really hurt..."

"... Well, uh, now that we're all here together, let's hang out and wait for the Black Rose Witch!" Tenpei said.

"Good idea, Ten-chan!" Lua said.

"Oh, here's your drink, Lua-chan." Tenpei said, handing Lua one of the drinks from the holder. "Banana split with extra chocolate."

"Thanks, Ten-chan!" Lua responded, but then he blinked at the size of the cups. "Looks like they gave us larges instead of mediums..." he said, sweat-dropping, but smiling.

"Ha, I guess the worker there was bad at math," Tenpei said. "Well, we got more than our money's worth, that's for sure!" he said, picking up Hikari's. "Looks like they added in extra whipped cream for you, too, Kari-chan."

"They must have thought you're cute like how Ten-chan thinks," Lua teased, elbowing Tenpei in the ribs.

"Cut it out, Lua!" Tenpei growled in a low tone.

_**"Ten-chan and Kari-chan, sittin' in a tree-"**_

"Nii-san!! What's the matter?!"

"Huh?" the two boys asked, freezing their fighting, blinking as they looked and saw Yusei on his knee.

"Argh, itai..." Yusei groaned in pain, holding his right wrist. "My arm, it hurts... it's the same as that one time..."

"Yusei! There you are! You found her?"

"What's the matter, sonny?" Yanagi asked.

"Nii-san says his arm hurts 'the same as that one time'," Hikari responded, wrapping her arms around Yusei's neck. "But what does Nii-san meansu?!"

"_'That one time'_?" Himuro asked.

Picking his head up a bit, Yusei kept one of his eyes tightly closed.

"When that crimsom dragon appeared..."

"Crimson dragon?" Hikari asked.

The silver-haired girl then found herself screaming when the ground began to shake.

* * *

"You're going back home, Hikaru?" Nerve asked.

"Only for a little while..." Hikaru responded. "Genji and I need to get our things..."

"So you'd like staying with us?" Taka asked.

"Yes, we would," Hikaru responded. "I left the money I made on the table so you guys can manage to get food while we're gone."

"_**Na-ah, Karu-chan!**_ You earned that money! You worked your hardest at the recycling plant, and you over-pulled your weight here with all of the cooking and the cleaning you did!" Nerve said. "That's your money!"

"Okay, Onee-chan! I'm ready!"

"Huh?" all three male guardians asked, looking behind themselves. They saw an ever-smiling Rally with his backpack on his back.

"And where do you think you're going, young man?" Blitz asked.

"I'm going with Hikaru-Onee-chan and Genji-Nii-san," Rally said, walking past them, and grabbing Hikaru's hand. "I wanna help them move here with us!"

"You're not going anywhere out of West Satellite with that marker so long as we're around," Blitz and Nerve said as they pulled him away by his arms.

"Put me _doooooooooown!!_" Rally whined, struggling to gain his freedom. "I'm not a little kid anymore; I can be trusted!! I don't break the law anymore, honest!!"

"Then how the hell did you obtain a fire-breathing lizard?!" Blitz asked.

"It wasn't my _faaaaaaaaaault!!_" Rally said. "He sneezed on a lit match!!"

"And just what were you doing with matches?!" Blitz asked.

"It was pitch-black in the theater!!"

"Blitzu-chan, it's alright."

"Huh?" Blitz asked.

"Rally has been behaving as a little boy should," Hikaru said. "Besides, I wouldn't judge him just based upon a mark on his face." She then lifted up one of her hands, holding up her index finger. "Genji has one," she said, brushing hair from the left side of Genji's face.

"Nani?!" Blitz exclaimed. "But he's-"

"You wouldn't have even guessed it, would you?" Genji asked. "I was lucky enough to not be sent to the detention center... I've heard that place is horrible. I got into trouble of false accusations."

"What does that mean, Genji-Nii-san?" Rally asked.

"I was marked as a punishment by accident; I didn't do a thing wrong..." Genji responded. "The real culprit from my work just said 'Well, Setsuna Genji helped me once! You should punish him, too!', just so his punishment would be less severe... and then by the time an eyewitness spoke up and said 'Setsuna Genji is innocent!', I had already been sent to a Neo jail to wait for my trial and be marked. Just when they were going to send me to the detention center, an officer stopped the truck, declaring my innocence, and made sure I was escorted back home to East Satellite." Genji flicked his hair back into its natural place. "My criminal record slate was wiped clean thanks to that; I sure was lucky."

"Upon first impression, did Genji seem bad at all to you?" Hikaru asked.

"... I cannot defeat your logic..." Blitz said, hanging his head.

"What he says," Nerve said, letting Rally's arm go. Blitz then let him go, as well.

"No worries, you guys," Hikaru began as Rally rushed back over to her, hugging her around the waist tightly. "Setsuna-chan and I will keep a close eye on him."

"- Damn it, Karu! I told you to stop calling me 'chan'! It's for girls and little kids!" Genji snapped.

"Well you are a kid, and you have a girl's name, Nii-san!" Hikaru teased.

"Shut your trap already, would you?!" Genji screeched.

_**"- Itai!!"**_

"Quit your faking, Hikaru-Imoto!" Genji said, placing his hands firmly on his hips when Hikaru dropped down onto her knees, clutching her right wrist.

_"My arm... it hurts..."_ Hikaru said, hanging her head.

"Nee-chan!" Rally said, kneeling down. "Daijobu, daijobu?!"

_"Itai... **it feels like my bone is splitting right down the middle!!**"_ Hikaru exclaimed.

"You really are hurting, Hikaru!" Genji said, kneeling down.

"How does it hurt, Nee-chan?" Rally asked worriedly.

_"It burns... it throbs... it aches..."_ Hikaru then threw her head back. _**"Why can't I just go numb now?!"**_

"Don't strain yourself!" Genji exclaimed, grabbing her arm, beginning to massage it. "You could be nearly tearing a tight muscle or breaking a ligament!"

**_"Itai, Nii-san!! Stop, onegai!!"_** Hikaru shrieked.

"Hikaru, calm down..." Genji said as Hikaru began to cry.

_**"Itai... itai!!"**_

Rally: _**In the green of early autumn,  
At the foot of a tree...  
Violets are scattered, and pansies bloom...  
Purple-petaled, and blue...**_

* * *

_**"It's the Witch!!"**_

"The Witch?!" Lua exclaimed. "She really showed up?! Where?! Where?!"

_**"It's the Witch!!"**_

_**"We'll get offed!! Run!!"**_

Clinging to Yusei as tightly as she could, Hikari began to cry, burying her face within the crook of his neck. She began shaking as the ground shook even greater, wind beginning to blow.

"What Witch?" Yanagi asked.

"So, she's here now, huh?" Saiga asked.

"She?" Himuro asked.

"We'll get dragged into this. We need to run!" Saiga said.

Yusei picked his head up as black vines began to break up through the ground, slamming into abandoned buildings, and knocking people over. He quickly then grasped Hikari with his left arm, holding onto her tightly as a vine ricocheted the ground by them, knocking them all over. Yusei, however, was able to jump, landing on his feet, Hikari still clinging to him.

"Daijobu, Hikari?" Yusei asked.

"I'm scared..." she whimpered back.

Yusei then stared through the thick dust cloud before them, finding the figure of a dragon.

"A dragon..." he said, letting go of Hikari, whom wrapped her legs around his waist to hang on to him tightly. He then pulled down his glove, and then pulled up his sleeve, seeing his red, glowing dragon birthmark. "The birthmark..."

"Sonny!" Yanagi said.

"Hey, when did you get that?" Himuro asked.

"This is the symbol of the dragon, the Dragon's Birthmark." Yanagi said.

"Dragon's Birthmark?..." Lua asked.

A bright light then began to shine from the spreading dust cloud, and everyone covered their eyes. Yusei then picked his head up when he heard a dragon screech.

"What's that monster?" Lua asked.

Yusei then stood up straight, running towards it, Lua following closely after. When he stopped, he saw a lady with a mask wearing a black cloak.

"The Witch..." Yusei said, fearlessly.

"So, that's the... Witch?" Lua asked, only to have Yusei block his path with his left arm just as the others ran back up to them.

"The Black Rose Witch is real..." Saiga said.

"Well, I'll be damned!" Yanagi exclaimed.

**_"You as well?"_** the Witch asked.

Looking down at his birthmark, Yusei then looked back at her.

"You as well?" he repeated, walking towards her.

**_"Wretched mark!"_** Black Rose Witch exclaimed.

Extending her right arm, a beam of light surrounded by wind came forth from the Witch's power. Yusei dropped down onto his knee again as the others covered their faces. Lua and Tenpei found themselves being knocked over onto the ground again.

When the "spell" disappeared, Yusei found that she had disappeared. Standing back up, he then used his arms to hold Hikari again.

"She's gone." Himuro said.

"What the heck was that?! How was she able to blow us back with her magic card's power, even though it's just solid vision?!" Yanagi asked.

"She is... she is real!" Tenpei said, him and Lua clinging to each other.

"I'm so glad we didn't get offed..." Lua said.

"That reaction that when the Witch saw you caught my interest." Saiga said.

Yusei then lifted up his right arm again, seeing his birthmark had disappeared.

"Aah! It's gone!" Lua said.

"Why?! That's a shame!" Yanagi said.

"I'm positive... the Witch has a birthmark, too." Yusei said. "The Witch said, 'You as well?'..."

"Hikari-chan, daijobu?" Tenpei asked, tugging on the back of her sweater.

Still shaking, Hikari unwound herself from clinging to her older brother, and stood on her own feet.

"I-I think so..." Hikari responded. Blinking, she then looked around. "Oh, no! I've lost him!" she exclaimed, running towards a pile of ruble. "Kaoru, where'd you go?!" she called.

"Kaoru?" Lua asked. "- Oh! You must mean that teddy bear you've been clinging to!"

"Yeah," Hikari responded, tears in her eyes as she began to dig through the ruble. "I gotta find him before he gets hurt!"

"Teddy bears aren't alive, Kari-chan-"

"Ten-chan and I will help!" Lua said, dragging Tenpei to another ruble pile. "It won't be challenging to find one teddy bear!"

"Yeah, we'll help you!" Tenpei said.

Picking her head up, Hikari smiled at them with gratitude.

"Arigatou na no da. `Su!" Hikari said.

* * *

Rally: _**In the green of early autumn,  
At the foot of a tree...  
Violets are scattered, and pansies bloom...  
Purple-petaled, and blue...**_

"Hurry up, would you, Blitzkrieg?!"

"Don't you pressure me, Nerve!!"

"But Karu-chan's in _paaaaaaaaain!!_" Nerve said as Blitz flipped through his medical books.

"I can see that, baka!!" Blitz responded, plopping down another heavy, thick book onto his lap before he opened it up to the index, scanning down the list.

Suddenly, Hikaru's labored breathing stopped, and her face unscrunched.

"Nee-chan? Are you okay?" Rally asked.

Giving off a small groan of pain, Hikaru slipped her eyes back open.

"It's odd..." Hikaru began.

"What is?" Genji asked.

"... The pain just magically disappeared..." Hikaru said.

"- It what?" Blitz asked, his head snapping back up, making Nerve wince when he heard cracking.

"It just... disappeared..." Hikaru responded, sitting up from the couch. "It's a bit sore now, but... the initial pain is just... gone."

"Karu, are you okay?" Genji asked.

"Yeah..." Hikaru responded.

"That is weird," Nerve said as Blitz closed his books.

"Well, at least Hikaru-chan feels better," Blitz said. "That's all that really does count."

"You still feel up to leaving today?" Genji asked.

"Yeah... yeah, I feel fine now." Hikaru responded, standing up.

"Here, Hikaru-chan. Bring this along just in case,"

Blinking, Hikaru caught the black wrist brace that Blitz tossed at her.

"What's this for, Blitzu-chan?" she asked.

"If your arm starts to hurt again, just put that on. It'll take the pain away as soon as possible," Blitz responded.

_"Woooooooow... magiiiiiiiiiiic..."_ Hikaru said, sounding impressed.

"Actually, it's more of a cushion and takes off pressure from-"

"Nii-san means he hopes it'll help you!" Nerve said, his hand smacked over Blitz's mouth from behind him.

"Arigatou, Blitzu-chama!" Hikaru said, putting the brace in her backpack pocket. "You're so nice and helpful!"

"Uh... your welcome..." Blitz responded.

* * *

"Hey, Kari-chan, is this him?"

Picking her head up, Hikari looked over her shoulder. Her face lit up when she saw Tenpei holding up Kaoru, whose clothes were a bit dirty.

"You found'ed himsu!!" Hikari exclaimed, running over to Tenpei and hugging him tightly. "Arigatou na no da!! `Su!!"

"U-uh... your welcome..." Tenpei responded, his cheeks dusted pink.

"I'm so glad I got you backsu, Kaoru-chan!" Hikari said, hugging her teddy bear like he'd disappear any second now.

"I hate to say this Hikari, but we have to get going; it's getting dark." Yusei said.

"Aw..." Hikari whined, looking up at Yusei with her shining eyes. "Can't we stay just a few more minutes?" she asked.

"No, it's too dangerous to be out here during the night." Yusei responded. "Besides, it looks like rain."

"Rain?..." Hikari asked.

"Wait a second..." Lua began, staring at Hikari's face.

_Oh no! Don't tell me my gauze is slipping!_ she panicked.

"I think I know what's going on..." Lua continued. "... You're afraid of storms, aren't you, Kari-chan?"

Mentally sighing, Hikari nodded.

"Thunder is loud and noisy, and lightning is scary..." she responded, still hugging Kaoru, her eyes shining with fearful tears. "Ever since I was little it's made me feel really scared'ed. `Su..."

"'Scared'ed'?" Tenpei asked.

"Yeah..." she responded.

"Come on, then, we'd better get back before it starts raining on us." Yusei said, taking her hand.

"Okay, Nii-san..." she responded, turning around to follow after him.

"It was nice meeting you, Hikari-chan!" Lua called as they headed for the entrance. "Let's hang out again sometime! Okay?!"

"Okay!" Hikari called back. "By Lua-chan, Ten-chan!"

"By Hikari!" the two boys called back.

* * *


	11. Burning Up

"This is your house?" Rally asked.

"We don't exactly call it a house, per-say," Genji said.

"Why not?" Rally asked.

"Please, don't be so modest; this place is like an old run-down factory filled with toxins." Genji responded.

"But this has been our home ever since Hikari had been just a child of three," Hikaru said, smiling as she stared at the pictures on the wall. "She looked just like our momma," she said, smiling at Rally. "And Yusei and I took after our father."

"Wow... what about you, Genji-Nii-san?" Rally asked.

"I took after my mother," Genji replied in an uninterested tone.

"Take a gander over here, Rally." Hikaru said, motioning her hand for him to come closer. Once he was by her side, she turned her eyes back to the pictures. "See that, right there?" she asked, pointing to the first frame. "That's us out under our old oak tree; Hikari's on the tire swing."

"So that's what a not-dead tree looks like..." Rally said, his gray-periwinkle eyes glimmering.

"Lemme tell ya, we were the envy of everyone around us." Hikaru said. "When ever our second tree grew peaches, that's how we'd make our money; sell the peaches, and eat them, too."

"And no one dared to steal them for fear of my shotgun," Genji added.

"- Shotgun?!" Rally asked.

"Relax, it was just a fib," Genji said. "I had to get rid of it after I killed that guy; remember, Karu?"

"Yeah, I remember!" Hikaru said.

**_"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKKSSSSSSS!!!"_** Rally shrieked.

"Aw, gomen nasai, Rally... we were only joking," Hikaru said, placing her hand atop of his head.

"All I have is a slingshot," Genji said, pulling out his slingshot from a drawer of one of the dressers. "This thing's met less war than a baby, but I still love it!"

"If you can't tell, we're a bit nutty, Ralls." Hikaru said.

"... Well, I am glad that Onee-chan is remembering things and coming out of her shell," Rally said. "It'll take a little bit for me to get used to it... and not question anything..."

"You know, Rally, questions do lead to knowledge," Genji said.

"True, true." Hikaru said.

"Do you guys need any help packing things?" Rally asked.

"Yeah. Why don't you come help me? Genji has his own way of packing his things; throwing them into bags in an organized manner." Hikaru giggled.

"Hey, some people don't like being neat!"

**Yusei: "Burning Up."**

"I can't thank you enough for doing this for me, Saiga."

"It's no problem, Yusei. I'll make sure they're alright,"

_"Nii-san,"_

"Oh, Hikari?" Yusei asked, looking up at the bed. "Gomen, did we wake you?"

Rubbing her eyes, Hikari shook her head.

"Didn't sleep too well to begin with," Hikari responded.

"Aw, did the rain keep you up?" Yusei asked. "You could have woken me up; you know I'll always be here to protect you."

"Nii-san..." Hikari began, hugging Kaoru with both of her arms. "What were you guys talking about the Satellite for?"

"... Oh, you heard us?" Yusei asked, seeing Hikari nod in response. "Well, it's been over a month since I was taken by Security, and since I can't go to the Satellite and come back, Saiga's managed to get a deal with a trash boat so he can check up on my friends." He then gave a somewhat mischievous smile. "And what's with that look? I'd know that face anywhere; you wanna say something..."

Laying Kaoru on her knees, Hikari stared into his eyes.

"Saiga-kun... might I ask you for one little favor while you're in the Satellite?..." she asked.

"Ask away," Saiga responded, giving a small bow, as if trying to act as a graceful gentleman.

"... There's someone in East Satellite," Hikari began.

"A friend?" Saiga asked.

"No; he's more than that..." Hikari answered. "He's... mine and Yusei's older half-brother; Setsuna is his name,"

"Half-brother?" Yusei asked.

"I never brought him up with you before," Hikari began. "Because I know he'd hate to learn that I'm the reason Hikaru is dead."

"It may be a little tough for me to find him with a name alone," Saiga said. "Do you know what he looks like?"

Her eyes shining, Hikari remained silent and still for a moment. She then sat Kaoru up, pulling down his overalls, and rolling up his sweater. For the first time since she hid them, she took out her pictures - all of them hidden in the same picture frame. She took the back off of the frame, and took out the picture that had been in front of the thick plastic the entire time.

"He's right here," Hikari responded, holding up the photograph. "He has green hair, the same blue eyes Nii-san, Sissy-cha and I have..."

"Fudo Setsuna..." Saiga said, fingering the brim of his hat. "Say no more, Miss Hikari. It's as good as done; I'll check up on him for you, let him know you're safe."

"Arigatou na no da, Saiga-kun." Hikari said, smiling. "- Oh! And one important little detail... Setsuna doesn't like being called Setsuna; he prefers to be called Genji, Setsuna Genji he calls himself to make it sound like his surname."

"I got it," Saiga said. "And don't you two worry, now, I'll check up on your friends and brother."

"Thank you so much, Saiga." Yusei said.

"Here," Hikari said, flinging the photo to Saiga, whom caught it between his index finger and middle finger. "Just in case... so you'll remember what he looks like."

"Alright," Saiga said, pocketing the photo into his jeans alongside the one Yusei had given him of Rally, Taka, Blitz and Nerve. "I'm leaving for the Satellite in about an hour; I should be back the day of the Fortune Cup."

"Thank you for your hospitalities, Saiga." Yusei said, bowing. "We are in your debt."

"Hai," Hikari said, bowing a bit as well from where she sat.

"It's no trouble," Saiga responded. "I'm heading off to the docks now, so I won't miss the boat," he said, heading to the door. "Stay safe, you two."

"We will!" Yusei called back as Saiga stepped out, then closed the door. When he heard a yawn, he looked over at Hikari and smiled. "Tired, Chiisana Hikari?" he asked, walking up the few steps to the "second floor", where Hikari's bed was.

"Hai..." Hikari then let out a long yawn. _"Sleepysu..."_

"Here," Yusei began, sitting on the edge of her bed, taking her by the shoulders, laying her back down gently. "Go back to sleep for a while..."

"But it's morning..." Hikari whispered sleepily.

"You are right... it is four in the morning, though." Yusei said.

"Nii-san seems wide awake..." Hikari said.

"Believe me, I'm going to go crash back on the couch again," Yusei responded. "All of the extra work I've been putting into my D-Wheel is wearing me out..."

"Here, Nii-san," Hikari said, scooting over towards the wall, and then patting beside where she laid. "You can lie here next to me..."

"Is that okay? Because I know that girls do need their privacy..." Yusei said.

"It's okay, Nii-san," Hikari responded. "We are family, after all... and I know I'll sleep better with you closer to me..."

Yusei gave a small smile, lifted up the blankets, and then laid down facing Hikari. His smile widened a tad when he saw her cute, sleepy face. Even with her three marks and the healing scar, he could see past them, seeing the beautiful blessing that had been born to life on earth destined to be his sister.

Mewling, almost like a kitten, Hikari snuggled up to Yusei's chest, hugging him with Kaoru still in one of her arms.

"Nighty... night... `su... Nii... san... `su..." Hikari whispered, her heavy eyes closed, sprinkled with the Sand Man's magical sleeping sand.

"... Buenas noches..." Yusei found himself saying unconsciously, his arms wrapping around Hikari, his eyes slipping closed as well.

* * *

"... Well... that's everything we have of value we can bring with us..." Genji said.

"... She's all I can see..."

"Hm?" Genji asked. "Hikaru, daijobu?"

"... All I can see with our abode like this," Hikaru began. "... Is Hikari..."

"Onee-chan?"

Hikaru found herself smiling.

"Remember the day we moved in here?..." Hikaru asked. "That was the very first thing Hikari ever remembered... playing with Kaoru as you and I set everything up... Kami, we were so young... too young..."

"This place has faced thousands of more pain, suffering and struggle than its worth..." Genji said. "Our lives are embedded in its gentle walls..."

"But, as long as its here, there's always the chance that we'll come back, homesick, and then return to West Satellite, homesick." Hikaru said.

Bending his eye brows, Genji reached into one of their bags.

"Then this will no longer be our home," he said, pulling out a matchbook.

Understanding and not objecting, Hikaru walked over to the dead oak tree, easily snapping off about half a dozen of its branches.

Genji lit a match on each of three of the six branches, taking one. For a moment he stared into the fire before, with all of his might, he threw it. A few sparks lit the oak tree ablaze, but when the branch hit the roof, it crashed through, breaking through the weakened roof, flames raising up.

Handing one of the two lit branches to Genji, Hikaru turned to their old home before she flung it; she hit the door, and immediately, it set ablaze. Right after, Genji threw the third lit branch, hitting one of the side walls.

Lighting two of the last three in Hikaru's hands, Genji lit the final one in his hand as she threw one at the fallen-over peach tree, and the other at the house again. Genji then threw the remaining branch, letting it land on the ground around the house. It quickly set fire to all of the bits of dead tree bark, fallen leaves from many years, and assorted sticks and twigs.

The two siblings and the red-head all stared for a few minutes, oblivious to the spinning world around them, the ground beneath their feet. The fire ate up everything around it; the abandoned tire swing, the dead trees, the old house-

And every memory the Fudos had left there with their precious baby sister; Fudo Hikari, whom never lived to see their house destroying itself by their hands.

As the fire blazed on, burning everything to an ashed char, the three seated themselves on the three bicycles that would pull their wooden wagon; the bicycles were nothing special at all. They had only been put together by Genji, and he hadn't cared to paint them, so they were just the color of steel. Hikaru and Rally sat on the two bikes in the back, Genji taking the front to lead the way.

Without a word, they began to pedal, slowly finding themselves traveling further and further away from the man-made destruction.

Their old lives were burning up.

* * *


	12. Dead Or Alive?

_Knock knock knock._

"It's open, Himuro, Yanagi!"

_**"Okay!"**_

"- Hold up," Yusei began, looking at the door as it opened. "Lua, Luka, Tenpei! What are you doing in a place like this?!"

"What are you doing in a place like this? It looks like a dump," Tenpei said.

"Hey, this is what Saiga hooked me up with," Yusei said. "I'd rather not complain to him about it."

"Long time, no see, eh, Yusei?" Luka asked.

"It's only been two days since you last saw him, Luka..." Lua said.

"Yeah, well you got to see him yesterday,"

"That's because I wasn't scared to try and find the Black R-"

"Guys, _sssh!!_" Yusei hushed, a gloved finger at his lips. "Hikari's still asleep,"

"But it's already nine-thirty," Lua said.

"Yeah, well, she was up most of the night, afraid of the storm." Yusei said.

"So that's the _kawaaaaaaaaaaii desu~ _Hikari you wouldn't shut your mouth about yesterday, Ten-chan?" Luka asked, looking up at the bed where Hikari laid, facing the wall, wavy, silver hair undone from its ponytails and flowing like wind gusts down her backside.

"Luka!!" Tenpei said, blushing brightly.

_**"Ten-chan and Kari-chan sittin' in a treeeeeeeeee!!~"**_

"Shut up, would you already, Lua?!"

_"Ssssh!!"_Yusei hushed again.

"Don't you two know any manners?" Luka asked.

**Yusei: "Dead Or Alive?"**

**_"Ca caw, ca caaaaaaaaaaw!!"_**

Looking towards the hallway, Blitz blinked.

"What the hell was that?" Saiga asked.

"Sounds like they're back already," Taka said.

"Hikaru-chan's home!!" Nerve said.

"Don't forget Rally and Genji," Blitz added.

"Mr. Nose-it-all..." Nerve said.

"_Waaaaaaaah_... all that biking wore me out..." Rally said, being carried in on Hikaru's back.

"I can put you down for a nap if you'd like, Rally-chan." Hikaru said.

"Welcome home, Hikaru, Genji, Rally." Taka said.

"Nice to be back here," Hikaru responded with a smile, but then upon spotting Saiga, she blinked. "Oh? We have company?" she asked, setting Rally down on the armchair. "Why don't I go make us some tea, then-"

"It's fine, Hikaru," Blitz said, grasping her right wrist. "Actually... Saiga-sama isn't here to see us."

"Huh? Then why is he here?" Hikaru asked.

"He's here to speak with you and Genji," Blitz answered.

"Speak with us?" Genji asked. "We have to get our things in from the wagon outside before someone can nab them."

"We can take care of it," Nerve said as he, Taka and Blitz stood up.

"Setsuna Genji, I presume?" Saiga asked, wasting no time as the three walked out to the hallway.

"Yes, and you would be?" Genji asked as he and Hikaru sat down, Rally jumping from the chair to the couch, sitting up beside Hikaru.

"The name's Saiga," Saiga began, removing his hat. "I came from the run-down areas of Neo-Domino to check up on the people who live here."

"Nice to meet you, Saiga-san." Hikaru said. "Can I get you anything to drink?"

"No, thank you. I'm quite alright," Saiga responded. "You wouldn't happen to be Hikaru, would you?"

"Yes, that's me..." Hikaru responded.

"I have a question to ask you two," Saiga began, placing his hat in his lap. "How would you like to meet your little brother, Yusei?"

"Huh?! You mean for real?!" Hikaru asked. "My precious little Twinny-Twin-Twin?..." she asked, her eyes sparkling.

"Yes," Saiga responded. "I've been helping Yusei and Hikari-"

"- Whoa, wait! Pause for a sec!" Genji exclaimed, holding up his hands. "Did you say Hikari?"

"Yes... I did," Saiga responded. "She found Yusei in the detention center, and when she was found innocent and cleared of her criminal record, she was allowed to leave, and Yusei was being released as well. She finally remembered who he was when he sang her a song-"

_"Twirling Whirling?"_Hikaru asked.

"I don't know, I was only told," Saiga responded. "Now, here's the thing... ever since you and her were trying to run away, the night you were swept away in a boat, she thought you had died, and decided not to speak up about being innocent for her crime charges."

"Oh no..." Genji breathed out. "Don't tell me that she's-"

"Marked."

* * *

"When do you think she'll wake up?" Tenpei asked.

Yusei was kneeling beside Hikari on the bed, placing fresh gauze on her cheeks and taping it on with white cloth medical tape.

"Soon, I'd think," Yusei responded.

_"Momma..." _Hikari mewled.

"It just occurred to me to ask this, but," Lua began, a hand on his chin. "Where is your mother, anyway?"

"She's been dead ever since Hikari was very young," Yusei responded, turning around and standing up. "She can't remember her or our father, but she looks just like our mother."

"Maybe we should come back later?" Tenpei asked.

"No, it's alright," Yusei said, walking back down the stairs. "You'd actually be doing me a great favor by playing with Hikari; I've been a little negligent lately..." he said, sitting back by his D-Wheel.

"Oh, yeah!! I forgot to tell you before, Luka, but Yusei's dueling in the Fortune Cup!!" Lua said.

"You exclaimed that very loudly several times last night, Lua..." Luka said.

"Cuz I won't lose to him this time is why, Luka!!"

_"Nani?..."_

"Huh?" Lua asked, looking over at Hikari's bed. He sweat-dropped as Luka gave him a look, and rubbed the back of his head as the silver-haired girl sat up, rubbing her eyes tiredly. "Gomen, Hikari-chan... I didn't mean to wake you up."

"That's okay, Lua-chan..." Hikari responded. Blinking, she pulled her hands away from her face, eyes darting back and forth between Lua and Luka. "... Okay, I'm seeing double, so, I must be more tired than I thought..."

"Oh, I forgot to tell you yesterday, Hikari-chan!" Lua said. "This is Luka, she's my twin sister!"

"Good morning, Kari-chan." Tenpei said.

"Hello, nice to meet you." Luka said.

"They came over here wanting to play while you were still sleeping." Yusei said.

"Why didn't you wake me up?" Hikari asked.

"You were up late," Yusei responded.

"... Oh."

"C'mon, Hikari-chan! Get dressed and lets go play!" Lua said.

"I am dressed, Hikari said, pushing off her blankets and shuffling onto her feet.

"You fell asleep without putting on your pajamas?" Tenpei asked.

"These are my only clothes," Hikari responded, holding Kaoru. "Nii-san got them for me a few days ago because my old ones were all tattered and dirty, and I was out-growing them..."

"Wow, you guys really don't have too much to your name, do you?" Luka asked.

"Luka, be nice to them!!" Lua said.

"It's okay, Lua-chan... it is true," Hikari said. "But, I am thankful for what I have here... Nii-san's been taking great care of me."

"You know, I never would have guessed that you have a sister..." Luka said, looking over at Yusei.

"Most people don't,"

"But I love my Nii-san more than anything in the world," Hikari said, smiling sweetly. "I wouldn't trade him away for anything..."

* * *

"I can't believe it... all of this time, I thought she had been dead..." Hikaru uttered.

"Saiga-san," Genji began, standing up. "I know it may be a huge challenge for you, and I know it's a lot of me to ask a stranger this, but..." He fisted his hands. "If it is at all possible, could you get Hikaru and me to Neo-Domino? If you can't, at least try and get Hikari back here?"

"Say no more," Saiga began, holding up a hand before he stood up as well. "It's as good as done."

"She's alive..."

Genji blinked, looking back at Hikaru. Clutched in her hands was her right-half of a broken heart pendant, her hands over her mouth.

_"Kami above, she's still a little miracle..."_ Hikaru whispered.

* * *


	13. Stardust Dragon

_**"Haha, Ten-chan throws like a girl!!"**_

_**"Do not, Lua!!"**_

"Boys are so immature, aren't they Hikari-chan?"

"We all have our moments..."

"- Holy magic cards, it's Atlas Jack!!" Lua exclaimed, dropping the blue ball.

"I'm not falling for that one again, Lua-chan!!" Tenpei said, crossing his arms.

"Ten-chan, behind you!!" Hikari exclaimed, running over to him, pushing him with her hands out as the white D-Wheel zipped by, missing them by mere seconds and inches.

_"- Oof!!"_ Tenpei gasped as he hit the ground, Hikari falling atop of him, both holding onto one another as they slid into a brick wall.

_**"Hikari!!"**_

Grimacing in pain as Yusei helped her up, Hikari pulled Tenpei up and sat him against the wall.

"Are either of you hurt?" Yusei asked.

"I'm a bit shaken, but otherwise, I'm fine..." Tenpei responded.

"I'm okay, Nii-san..." Hikari responded, pain-filled tears in her eyes.

"Yusei."

Eyes becoming cold, Yusei picked Hikari up, letting her arms come around his neck, her legs wrapping around his waist. He turned around, eyes locking onto the blonde standing beside the now parked, white D-Wheel.

"Jack."

**Yusei: "Stardust Dragon."**

"Who would have thought I'd return to the city where I have a criminal record?" Hikaru asked, staring off towards Neo-Domino across the water. "Hikari's there, somewhere... my Lil' Light..."

"And Yusei is there as well," Genji said.

"Genji..." Hikaru looked over at her brother with shimmering eyes. "We'll be reunited with Twinny-chan and Lil' Light.... We can finally be a family again..." She smiled, bringing a hand to her eyes as her tears fell. "I don't remember the last time I felt this happy..."

"... We, uh... weren't we already a family, Onee-chan?" Rally asked.

"Oh, but of course we were, Rally!" Hikaru responded. "I just... I meant..." She crossed her arms. "Well... I guess, I mean it like our blood relations can finally be together again..." She smiled again, placing a hand atop of Rally's head. "Don't you worry about anything, Rally-chan, you hear?" she asked. "I'm equally thankful to have been taken in and become a part of the family right here... I wouldn't trade you away for anything," She wiped a tear from her eye with her finger. "Yusei and Hikari... they'll just make things even more surreal than they are now."

Rally smiled back at her, and flung his arms around her waist.

"I'll try my best to be a good nii-san for Hikari-chan!" Rally said. "You can count on me!"

Blitz stared down and off of the boat, watching the ripples that were produced by breaking the waters' surface.

* * *

"Why? Why is the King here?!" Yanagi asked.

"Don't know," Himuro responded.

Jack looked over his shoulder, silent as he looked over at Yanagi, and then at Himuro.

"Never thought I'd see you again, King." Himuro said.

Jack turned away from him, and Himuro growled in response. Quickly, Yusei gave him the shake of his head, and the blue-haired man backed down.

As Yusei locked cold eyes back onto Jack, Hikari picked her head up, looking over at Jack. One glare of his ice-cold amethyst eyes were enough to make Hikari whimper and bury her face into Yusei's shoulder, her hands grasping his shoulders tightly.

"Can I help you?" Yusei asked.

Jack reached into his shirt, and then pulled out a card. Turning it over, he revealed Stardust Dragon. Yusei's eyes widened at this.

_Could that be the dragon?!_ Yanagi thought.

"It appears that you'll be in the Fortune Cup," Jack said.

"How do you know?" Yusei asked.

"Never mind that. I came to return this," Jack responded. "It only makes sense for Stardust if you use it. Use it and settle the scores from that night!"

Glancing down at Hikari, Yusei placed one of his hands atop of her head.

"Were you the one who sold out Rally and the others?" Yusei asked.

"Nani?" Jack asked.

"I was given a photo by a main claiming to be from the Public Security Maintenance Bureau," Yusei began.

"Oh?"

"If I don't enter the Fortune Cup, he said he would put Rally and the others in danger." Yusei responded. "The only reason I'm entering is to fight against that rotten Public Security Maintenance Bureau!" He bent down as Hikari unwrapped her legs from his waist, and set her down on her feet.

"In that case, it's quite fitting that you have Stardust!" Jack said, throwing Stardust Dragon over at Yusei, whom held up one of his hands, catching it as he stood back up straight. "That settles it." Jack said. "I came here. Next time, you come to me!" he said as Hikari latched onto Yusei's arm, holding it tightly as she stared over at Jack. The blonde let out a bit of an amused laugh as he sat back down on his D-Wheel. "I will say one thing," he began. "That day will not be the only day you see the Crimson Dragon!"

"Nani?!" Yusei asked.

Jack merely smirked before he revved the engine, turning around before speeding off.

"Let me take a gander at that dragon!!" Yanagi exclaimed as the others all ran towards the brother, sister, and Tenpei. Yusei held the card up for them to see. "Ooh, finally! It's called 'Stardust Dragon', huh? Fantastic!! So, that means, sonny, you really are a Signer!"

Yusei remained unresponding.

"Then, you don't mean that the fellow that dueled you that one time was..." Yanagi began."

"It was him." Yusei responded.

"The King?! I'll be damned!!" Yanagi exclaimed. "So, is the King a Signer, too?"

'What do they mean?' Hikari asked herself as she looked over at Tenpei. Tenpei looked back with a smile, but then his face faltered.

**_"- Hikari-chan!!"_** he exclaimed, falling over with his hands beneath him.

"Nani?" Hikari asked, blinking. "Daijobu, Ten-chan?"

_"Y-y-yo-y-y-"_ Tenpei stuttered, one of his hands pointing shakily at her. _**"Your face!!"**_

Sapphire eyes widened. Immediately knowing the problem, hands jolted up, feeling around on her left cheek.

It was bare.

"Hikari-chan!..." Lua gasped.

"Dear Kami..." Luka uttered.

_**"Iiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeeee!!"**_ Tenpei shrieked, running around in circles. _**"I'm in love with a criminaaaaaaaaaaaaaaal!!"**_

"Ten-chan-" Hikari began.

_**"I knew it was too good to be truuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuue!!"**_

Finding her tears brewing again, Hikari's lips trembled.

"Stop it..."

"Ten-chan, would you cool it?!" Lua asked.

**_"Guys, we gotta run!!"_** Tenpei exclaimed.

"Stop it..."

"Ten-chan, put a cork in it!" Luka said.

"But what if she attacks us next?!"

**_"STOP IT!!!"_** Hikari shouted up towards the sky, her hands fists. Tenpei slammed into the same brick wall he had hit before, falling over onto his back, watching imaginary stars and birds fight.

"Hikari-" Yusei began, reaching a hand over towards her shoulder, only to have her shoulder jerking away.

"I've had it..." Hikari said in a tone that could only be identified as growling, glaring daggers at Tenpei. "I thought that... I thought that I could live an unjudged life - at least I wanted to try..."

Tenpei scrambled up onto his bottom, trying to scurry backwards as Hikari stepped towards him.

"The only thing burdening me is no crime against the city itself," Hikari began. "Iie... I accomplished no crimes... I was only framed..."

"Fr-framed?" Tenpei asked, frozen in his place, gazing at Hikari through his glasses.

"You know no true pain and suffering, Tenpei," Hikari growled. "I wasn't always dirt-poor... I have no memory of the Tops... only Nii-san can seem to remember."

"N-nani?" Tenpei asked.

"I lived in the Satellite for the longest time," Hikari said. "It was me, my half brother Setsuna Genji, and sister, Hikaru."

"But, what about Yusei?" Lua asked.

"Yusei..." Hikari began, unable to change her bitter tone. "Yusei was separated from us... he had no memory of us, and yet, we had a lingering memory of him... the only identification we had for him was 'Twinny-chan', because... he was my Sissy-cha, Hikaru's, younger twin brother..."

"Th-then... what happened for... for you to-"

"Sissy-cha and I broke into the Tops," Hikari responded. "We were responsible for the Tops crimes... but we didn't do anything wrong. All we were doing was searching, based on a lingering thought she had... and then when we were escaping Security on a boat, my cheek was injured by a bullet, a bullet hit Sissy-cha..." Her fisted hands dug her nails into her flesh, and pinpricks of blood began to seep through cutting skin, curling out and around cleaned fingernails. "She was swept out to sea, unconscious, bleeding and drowning to death... and then, I was arrested, and the officer who arrested me made me look like the only culprit for what happened. In my mind, I bear these marks, not for the false accusations that have been cleared in my name," She picked her head up, angered eyes filled to the brim with tears that began to fall. "But for being the reason why Sissy-cha is dead!!" she exclaimed. Teeth gritting, she kept her eyes locked onto Tenpei. "So go ahead, have your fun, cold your shoulder at me, kick me now that I'm down!!... I could care less for you now, Hayano Tenpei!! I never want to see you again!!"

"Hi-Hikari-chan..." Tenepi uttered, his jaw dropped.

_**"I don't wanna hear it!!"**_ Hikari exclaimed, scooping up Kaoru from the ground before she turned around, running for the door to her and Yusei's apartment.

"Hikari-chan!!" Tenpei began, scrambling up onto his feet. "Hikari-chan, wait!!"

"Go home,"

"Huh?" Tenpei asked, looking up at Yusei, whose arm blocked him from running after the silver-haired girl.

"Go home, now, Tenpei," Yusei said, glaring down coldly at the brunette. "I will not tolerate anyone who hurts anyone I care for. Go home. Now."

"Y-Yusei..." Lua said.

Closing his mouth, Tenpei gulped, then nodded. Hanging his head and slumping his shoulders, he turned around, beginning to trek away; back towards the Tops.

"Ten-chan..." Lua uttered.

"Ten-chan..." Luka whispered.

As Yusei walked back towards the apartment, he didn't even notice how Hikari stared out the window blinds, her tiny fingers only just holding them open a bit.

_Ten-chan..._

She let the blinds slip closed.

* * *

_"Hikaru... Hikaru..."_

Groaning, sapphire eyes slipped open.

"Nani?... What is it?..." she asked, sitting up, rubbing her eyes. "Blitzu-chan?..."

"Hikaru..." Blitz began. "I... need to talk with you..."

"Okay..." Hikaru responded. "But why now?"

"So we can talk alone," Blitz responded.

"Alone?"

Blitz sighed, staring down at the whiteness of his socks. Even they seemed to remind him of Hikaru; ever since she had began to live with them, she took the liberty of doing cooking, cleaning, and the laundry. She always managed to scrape up enough soap to actually clean clothes better than they had done before - all they could do was make soapy water, swish them around, and wash them out in clean water and then just dry them.

Hikaru did it differently; she took her time to clean each article of clothing, always ignoring the pruning of her hands. Every time they put on a fresh pair of clothes, not only were they thankful for the clean, soft feeling, they were all thankful for Hikaru.

She was a blessing in their lives.

"Hikaru, there's something I really need to tell you..." Blitz began, picking up his head, gazing at ther through his spectacles.

"Is something the matter, Blitzu-chama?" Hikaru asked. "You know you can always talk to me about anything..." She placed one of her hands atop of his. "And I mean anything..."

Drawing in air from his nostrils, Blitz breathed out his mouth.

"Hikaru, I really like you... and I care about you a lot..." Blitz said in a tone of voice that sounded sorrowful.

"I like Blitz a lot, too... and I care about him so much, too!" Hikaru responded with a small smile.

"But I..." Blitz began. "... I think I'm in love with you..."

Hikaru blinked.

"Love?" She blinked again. "Like... you mean as family?"

"No," Blitz shook his head. "No..." He pulled his hand out from under Hikaru's, and then placed it atop of hers, gripping it a bit tightly. "I mean... well, I know what love feels like, and for the longest time, I thought it had only been lust, because when ever I do meet a girl who likes me and actually wants to talk to me, I always screw everything up thanks to these stupid hormones that take over my mind and feelings..."

Hikaru could only stare at the blue-haired male spoke. She kept on hoping he'd pick up his head, look into her eyes, brush back her hair - something, at the very least, a little more than looking down, his grip on her hand loosening, then tightening up again several times.

He was almost driving her crazy.

"The most I have ever really felt for a girl had been lust, and every single time I always acted on it..." Blitz continued after his pause. "But it was different with you..."

Hikaru smiled, somewhat uneasily.

"Well... Hikaru-chan does know she is different..."

Blitz shook his head again, and then finally looked up again, locking green eyes with ocean-blue. Hikaru felt her heart beating in almost every limb of her body.

"I've looked at this all I could... I had to scratch off lust a while back, and then I thought I saw you like a mother..."

"We-well... Hikaru is momma-like..." Hikaru said.

"But then that wasn't it either," Blitz continued. "... Hikaru..."

Hikaru found herself shaking, almost as if she feared the words Blitz were to say.

"... I know we've only known one another for a short time, but..." he began. "... I can't imagine my life without you... and it took the shortest amount of time for us to bond... and no matter what was going on, you kept on trying your hardest to be there... even when you had thought your sister was dead..."

Hikaru's skin jumped when she felt Blitz's hand lay upon her cheek. She couldn't quite help but feel the odd feelings coursing through her body, the way she couldn't describe them... liking them yet unsure of the foreignness at the same time.

"... Fudo Hikaru..." Blitz began. "W-watashi..." He paused. "... I love you..."

Hikaru gasped. Her eyes widened. She remained frozen, almost tense.

Blitz dared to lean forwards, and kiss her.

It wasn't anything special. Nothing more than the touch of lips... but somehow, the sensations were too much for Hikaru, and her eyes slipped closed, and she ended up falling asleep in Blitz's arms.

Embracing the black-haired girl, Blitz laid them both down, letting her rest on his arm.

_... Please, still be here in the morning..._ Blitz found himself praying, before he, too, lost his battles to stay conscious.

* * *

Hikari sat up in bed, wide awake, staring down into Kaoru's eyes. She let her wounded cheek stay out in the open, she let her marks become streaked with tears... all she could do was sigh.

"Nii-san..." she began, picking her head up.

"Hai?" Yusei asked, hanging up his jacket on the coat hanger.

"... Gomen nasai, Nii-sama..." she whispered. "Watashi wa... watashi wa... gomen..."

She couldn't take it anymore. She clutched Kaoru tightly, letting her tears fall onto him. Her sobs were loud, hysterical... worse than when she had cried in front of the mirror. Hikari could only seem to express her emotions with crying.

_**"I'm a terrible person!! I don't deserve to live!! Sissy-cha is gone forever, and I can never face Tenpei or Lua and Luka again!!"**_ she shrieked. _**"I don't deserve love from anybody!! I don't deserve anything!! Genji would never take me back, and how can you care about me so much when you don't even remember a thing about me?!"**_

Moments later, Yusei found himself standing beside their bed, clad in only his shirt and boxers. He sat down, pulling Hikari into his arms.

_"Hush, hush..."_ Yusei found himself saying, rocking Hikari like a baby. "It's okay... cry it all out... cry it all out..."

Hikari dropped Kaoru all together, and clung desperately to Yusei, burying her face in his chest. She could smell his scent - a combination of metallic tangs, gasoline and oil, along with an earthy smell, like how soil was moist under the sun's love after the rain.

_"I have nothing left to live for..."_ Hikari sniffled. She seemed to have had her fill. She had cried all she could, and now she just found herself in a state of tired confusion.

"Hikari, that is not true." Yusei responded, pulling her back to stare into her pain and tear-filled eyes. "I am your brother, memories or no memories, and I will love you as much as I can, mentally, spiritually, and physically..." He laid his right hand, now freed from its glove, upon her cheek. "If I were to lose you... I'd lose a big portion of my life..."

Hikari shook, sniffling, still crying.

"N-Nii-sama..."

Yusei brushed her bangs aside, and then held her face with his hands. In a delirium himself, he found himself leaning forwards, placing his lips onto Hikari's. Their two pairs of ocean-blue, tired eyes found themselves slipping closed at nearly the same time. Yusei pulled back only for a brief second for them to breathe, and then they found their lips together again, this time, somehow, containing more force and a strange, undeniable need...

Lips parting a second time, Yusei found himself switching off the lamp by the bed - the only source of light in the room that had been on - and pinning Hikari beneath him on the bed.

"N-Nii-san..." Hikari breathed.

Yusei picked his head back up, staring his blue eyes to Hikari's closed ones.

"Hikari..." he spoke softly. Her eyes cracked open. "Believe me, I love you... more than anyone else I know, because... you're the only family I have, after years of loneliness and betrayal... I would hate for the same thing to happen to you, so..." He placed one of his hands on her cheek again. "I will die for you if I must..."

"Nii... Nii-san-"

_"Ssssh..."_ Yusei hushed, which ushered her eyes closed as their lips met again. Hikari mewled - almost with need - and clung to her brother tightly. Her entire body began to heat up, and it began to drive her crazy.

Nothing stayed coherent, nor real within their minds. Psychosis and ethereal thoughts were the only ones clinging to them, almost desperately.

Everything fell away from their grasps.

* * *


	14. Breakdown

_"Onee-chan... Onee-chan..."_

Groaning, Hikaru cracked her eyes open, turning over.

"Ralls... hey..." she responded.

Rally smiled brightly, then held out a plastic-wrapped package of two onigiri.

"Breakfast time!! Itadakimasu!!" Rally piped.

Hikaru smiled, beginning to lean up into a sitting position. She reached a hand out and grasped the rice balls.

"Arigatou..." she responded. "Itadakimasu..."

Rally giggled a little.

"Was Onee-chan tired?" Rally asked. "You slept awfully long..."

"I am a little worn, havin' to spend all of this time on a trash boat..." Hikaru responded, stretching. "Saiga, how long will it take us to get to Neo-Domino, anyway?" she asked, poking a finger into the plastic wrap and beginning to tear a hole and tear it off.

"I estimate a few more days..." Saiga responded, staring off toward the mainland. "Let's see... the Fortune Cup was six days away when I set off, it's been three more... another day or two, I think. We'll definitely be there in time for when Yusei competes. But of course... it'll be tough to sneak in six satellite-inhabitants, especially you two, Genji and Rally."

"Let me guess... because of the marks on our faces?" Rally asked, agitatiedly rolling his eyes.

"It's the fact of the matter, might I say," Saiga said. "You think it was easy to help Yusei break past Security unharmed? It was a life-or-death mission thanks to his own mark... but we're lucky Hikari's markers were decommissioned; if Security found two mark-bearers in the same place, I'd be the one punished, marked as well, and sent to the detention center... and it's a different story with Himuro and Yanagi; they live a little way's off in separate apartments..."

"I don't care if I get caught," Hikaru declared before taking a bite from one of her onigiri. "Anything is worth reuniting the family... especially now."

"What makes this moment feel special, Karu?" Genji asked, his arms crossed behind his head.

"I think the reason why I couldn't sleep well last night was because either Yusei or Hikari are in distress," Hikaru said, placing one of her hands in the middle of her chest; over her heart. "It could be the both of them... yeah, I think that's it..."

"Thank Kami for your sixth sense," Genji said.

"I just hope they'll be okay..." Hikaru said, staring down at the balled-up plastic wrap.

_Hikari..._

**Yusei: "Breakdown."**

He had been gone long before the sun had even risen.

Hikari sat up in bed, which stank of sweat and other scents she wished not to identify. Either way, she hugged her knees, clad only in her light pink, silk panties, and her white undershirt with light pink outlines of cherry blossoms.

Yusei's note laid on the bedside table, which she had to read only once, and now his words were burning themselves to the underside of her brain; sneaking up on her unwantingly, haunting her...

_Hikari,_

_Sorry I am not present this morning, but I need to run to the junkyard. I've left you money so you can buy yourself breakfast and lunch. If I am not back by the evening, also get yourself some dinner. I'm off salvaging parts for my D-Wheel, so you know._

_Don't worry. I would never leave you._

_With love,_

_Yusei_

Hikari felt a tingling, lightly numb feeling on certain parts of her body. Her hair was free, which bent down with her head, hiding her cheeks.

She wished her hair would envelope her completely.

Not being able to stand staying still any longer, she kicked the sheets and blankets strewn across her body off, standing up. The only light in the room was the sunlight peeking in through the cracks in the blinds, which created bars across her body as she stepped down the stairs.

Sapphire eyes locked onto various jars; jars of different jellies and jams, a few jars of honey, a few of peanut butter, just with fresh, clean water. She remembered her and Yusei spread these sweet substances onto crackers at night, munching away, ending up with smears on their faces.

She began to wonder, _What if last night had been a normal night?... What if my marks were still undiscovered territory?... Would Yusei and I have had our snacks in peace?... Be nothing but normal?... What if we hadn't-_

Angering herself and boiling over, Hikari picked up half-empty jars of water in both hands, and threw them at the wall. She smiled almost wickedly as she heard them shatter. The glass rained across the floor from the wall, littering sparkles among the light beams.

_"Light... hikari..."_ she uttered, picking up two more jars - these had a thin coating of strawberry jam inside them. Throwing them with force, she screeched as she did so. _"What's so light about me now?!"_ she asked, picking up two filled honey jars. _"What is so hikari?!"_ _**Crash.**_ What is so hikari?!?!" _**Crash. Shatter.**_ **_"WHAT - IS - SO - HI-KAAAAAAA-RRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII?!?!?!"_** she screeched.

_**Smash! Crash! Shatters!**_

_Tears..._

Surrounded by shards, Hikari breathed deeply. Holding a jar of blackberry jam, she kept a struggled grip on it, her arm up in the air. Bringing it down as her eyes began to sting, she opened it up, and scooped out jelly onto her fingers. Looking over at the mirror, she saw her own reflection.

Red marks, light bruises were on her neck and a few other places on her body. Cheeks stood out; injured on one, marked on the other.

Those marks...

As a tear dropped down onto the jam, Hikari lifted it up to her face, smearing it over her yellow, jagged marks.

_I can no longer be pure... I can't be innocent anymore,_ her thoughts growled. She smeared hand fulls of the blue-black substance all over herself - on her injured cheek, on her bruises, the red bite marks, down her shirt and over her breasts, her legs, smothering her shins, coating her thighs... _I am a mockery to wear a heart so white, have the mind like gem so untouched..._

She shattered every blackberry jar onto the floor, taking the dark substance with glass shards into her hands, baptizing herself in the dark colors. When she felt sticky enough, in she spread it to her hair.

Taking in deep breaths, she looked over at the mirror again. Her pale, white skin was covered; her shirt and panties were stained with the jam, and her hair was darkened. Finally, her dark, ocean-blue eyes didn't seem so misplaced on a pretty, little girl such as herself.

Collapsing onto the jam and honey covered floor, Hikari weakened, feeling herself spiraling downwards.

_I am pure... no longer..._ her thoughts whispered as she closed her eyes to darkness, embracing it completely, fully, without any fears...

Hikari laid within a prison of her own mind, the sunshine creating litteral bars across her figure, creating the image of a dark-minded, marked girl who still belonged within the walls of a detention center. It was too late now, though, no matter what...

He hadn't been there for her.

His promise was as good as broken.

* * *

Hikaru looked over all of the sleeping bodies.

Late noon, and everyone had been wiped out already. So why not recharge with a nap underneath the sun?

If only she could sleep.

She felt over-whelming feelings; dark feelings... feelings she had felt within her dreams the previous night.

"Hikari..." she whispered.

* * *

Hikari dared opening her eyes. She soon then had to close them again when water was poured over her head.

"You're awake,"

Hikari didn't respond to the statement, instead she just opened her eyes again.

There he was. Stark naked, sitting in water that couldn't be any clearer, in a strange, peach-orange bathroom.

What was more, she was just as clothed as he was.

"Nii-san?..."

"We're at Lua and Luka's house," Yusei responded, scrubbing her skin with a pouf. "They and Tenpei came over while I was gone, and found you in that mess..."

"Nii-san, I am so sorr-"

"Sssh," Yusei hushed, holding her closely to himself again. "It's alright... I'm the one who should be sorry for leaving you alone, even if what happened last night didn't happen..."

"I was hoping it was all a dream..." Hikari said, her hands on his chest as she rested against him. "All of yesterday, this morning... I'm so impure..." She sobbed, beginning to cry all over again.

"No... no you are not," Yusei responded, stroking her bare back. "If anything, I am the one to blame... I was in no better condition than you were... we've committed forbidden crimes..."

Hikari slipped her eyes closed, snuggling into his embrace and chest.

"Nii-san..." she whispered.

"... It'll be our little secret, alright?..." Yusei asked.

"Hai..."

Yusei then took her by the shoulders, holding her out at arm's length.

"You'll have a bit of a sickly pale-colored skin for a while, that's for sure..." Yusei said. "And your hair's a bit darker than before,"

"I'm darker than before," Hikari responded.

"I think you need a nice rest..." Yusei said, pulling her onto his lap again. "Imoto su kouzan..." he whispered into her ear, soothingly. Hikari mewled.

"Nii-san..." she whispered back, falling into a less fit-full sleep.

_Oh, Hikari... what have I done to you?..._

* * *

"What are you doing, Hikaru?"

Blinking, Hikaru looked over her shoulder. Blitz stood a few feet away from her whilist the others kept themselves asleep.

"I'm singing for Hikari," Hikaru responded. "I have a feeling that she's feeling sad..."

"You sure do like singing," Blitz said, standing beside where she leaned, his back facing the ocean as she stared off to it.

"Singing is a big part of our lives," Hikaru said, reaching her hand down, over the edge. "I've been singing for as long as I can remember... I love singing, and so does Hikari... even Genji likes it, saying as he sings every now and then as well."

"I wouldn't have guessed," Blitz said.

Hikaru smiled at Blitz before she stared down at her reflection.

"Hikari always told me that she'd be our ticket out of the Satellite," Hikaru said. "She always said, _'Sissy-cha!! I'm gonna be the bestest singer I can besu!! I'll light up the entire world!!'_ Then she'd smile, giggling, and say _'`Su!!'_" Hikaru brought up her undangling hand, playing with the ends of her bangs. "It's funny... I miss the little things about her... the way she'd always be right there next to me, how she always clung to me on stormy nights, how cute her sleepy faces were..."

"I remember once about a year ago," Blitz began, looking up to the clouds. "There was a festival that we all had decided to go to. Nerve and I decided to head off on our own for a little while, then we'd meet the others for lunch. We got into this huge argument about something silly from when we were kids - I can't even remember what we had been fighting about, now... but we got really angry, he said _**'I hate you, Blitzkrieg!!'**_, and then I said _**'I wish you were dead, Nerve!!'**_, and then as cliched as it sounds, we parted ways..."

"Sibling rivalries... Genji and I always had tons of them, but thank Kami Hikari never got involved... she was always the solution, my Lil' Light." Hikaru laughed. "So then, what happened with you and Nerve?"

"Well, wouldn't you know it, that day had been a day a brush fire started," Blitz responded. "It set ablaze the Fun House Mirror Tent, where Nerve joked he had wanted to hide in all day and scare people. And of course, guess what I had heard?"

"Nerve's voice?" Hikaru asked.

"Plus the voices of children," Blitz answered. "Nerve had gotten stuck, wanting to save them, and then he had ended up getting scared, calling out _**'Nii-san!! Nii-san!! Help!! Help me, onegai!!'**_... So I was obligated to run in there. When he saw me, he had been completely surprised, and asked me if I was going to let him die in there. I could only hug him for a brief moment before we began to usher out the children. And when Rally, Yusei and Taka had heard about the brush fire starting, they had rushed over. By the time they broke through the crowd, we'd finally escaped. So many parents were thankful for us..."

"That sets 'irony' to a whole new level, Blitzu-chama." Hikaru chuckled.

"You know, even though I don't show it, that day changed my life forever..." Blitz said. "Nerve is the only person in my family's bloodline I have left... he may be annoying, but all siblings can be annoying. I love that kid... he may not know it, but I've been keeping a closer eye on him than before... because I don't want the last words I tell him to be something as terrible or worse than 'I wish you were dead'.... So that day, I took a solemn vow... if I ever did anything to hurt him, I prayed that Kami would strike me down with a bolt of lightning."

"And?" Hikaru asked.

"Well, I've been tons of times so far, but I ain't dead." Blitz goofed.

That, somehow, caused not only the girl to burst out into laughter, but Blitz also, almost simultaneously.

"Oh, boy..." Hikaru wiped tears from her eyes. "Wow, I haven't laughed like that in ages... last time I did, it was when Genji managed to tangle a pair of his boxer shorts into his tongue studs. I have no idea how on Kami's green earth he pulled that one off, but I was only thankful that they were clean ones! 'Cuz I was the one who had to untangle them for him! Hikari even peed herself laughing!"

"You really love her, don't you?"

"Huh?" Hikaru asked, looking back up at Blitz's face. "... Yeah, I really do... she's always been a big part of my life. To everyone she meets, she's a light in this shit hole we call a world; hence 'hikari', meaning 'light', her name..."

"... I wasn't lying last night."

"Nani?"

"Last night. I wasn't lying when I said what I did. And also, I don't regret..." Blitz leaned down, leveling his eyes with Hikaru's. "... kissing you, Miss Fudo."

"Blitzu-chama... you have to understand," Hikaru began, turning her head back down, staring to the water. "The way I grew up, I could only keep all of my love to Genji and Hikari... I had no control over it when I lost my memories, but either way, I bonded with you boys like I have to no other people." She reached a hand down over the edge again. "I don't know how I truly feel right now... and I know that once we reach the mainland, Genji is going to warn me several times that I can't be as dependant on Hikari as I used to. As much as I hate to imagine this, she's probably changed some... I can't lie to myself, of course she's changed. She thinks I'm dead, and all of those feelings I felt... they're feelings a little twelve year-old shouldn't have to feel.

"Twelve?! Judging from that photograph, I would have guessed she was eight or nine, ten at the most!!" Blitz said.

"Well, she was born on February the 29th... the day that only comes around every four years." Hikaru responded. "You know what they say; people born that day really only age every four years... but not Hikari, she's different..." She sighed. "She's had to experience things a girl her age shouldn't have to, no matter what age she is... twelve or three and one-fourth, she's my baby sister... when ever we suffered, I always wished that she didn't have to..."

Small wrinkles began to form on Blitz's forehead.

"We all have things we wish we could have done, haven't done, what have you..." Blitz said. "It's selfish to keep on dwelling on them, though... it's like when me and Nerve fought at the festival; he told me that night when we went to bed _'I wish I hadn't said those things to you, Nii-san... when I was in that fire, trying to protect all of those little children so that they'd at least have a chance at living if I didn't, all I could think about was how much I wish I could have told you that I take it all back, that I love you... then, I would have died happy if I had to.'_"

"... That's pretty deep..." Hikaru said.

"Well... after he told me that, all I could tell him was that we should just move on, and try not to fight as badly again..." Blitz finished. "That was all I could come up with... after that touching, dare I say beautiful, speech he told me... but at the end of it all, we made up, mushy-gushy brotherly love, hugs, fell asleep together..."

"You loved it, I know you did." Hikaru teased.

"What makes you say that?" Blitz asked, his cheeks dusted pink.

"It takes an older sibling to know how another older sibling feels about his or her younger sibling," Hikaru said matter-of-factly, holding up a finger.

Blitz found himself giving a small smile.

"That's what I like about you..."

* * *

"Hikari-chan, daijobu? We were really worried when we saw what happened..." Luka said.

"H-hai... I guess I was just carrying a little too much than I could handle," Hikari responded. "And, Ten-chan? Gomen nasai... I shouldn't have said what I said yesterday..."

"If anyone should be sorry, it's me..." Tenpei responded. "I'm not so good with judging people by how they look... my parents just always told me to keep away from someone if they have a marker, 'cuz they're most likely to hurt or kill someone..."

"I should have just gotten these things removed when I had the chance..." Hikari said, sitting down on a couch. "What in the world was I thinking?..."

"Hm..." Lua began. "Kari-chan, you wanna know what I think?"

"Huh?" Hikari asked, looking up.

"I think those marks could stand for something for you!" Lua said. "Like... 'Pie is good', or... 'I am cow'! - Ow!!" He winced, Luka's foot having kicked his shin. "Or, something a little more philosophical and practical..."

"Stand for something?" Hikari asked.

"That's a great idea, a great idea, Lua!" Tenpei said.

"For once..." Luka said.

"What does Hikari think they should stand for?" Lua asked.

Hikari stared down in thought, placing a hand on her chin.

"Gosh, it'll be a little tough to narrow it down to three..." she said. "Harmony, because it can stand for love, life, happiness, peace, and health... friends, because they're an important part of life... and..."

"Duel Monsters?" Lua asked.

"Self-worth?" Luka asked.

"... Well, music is a big part of my fami-"

Hikari cut herself off, her eyes narrowing. Almost immediately after, she hung her head.

"Setsuna-Nii-san..." she whispered. "... He must be so worried by now, wondering where Hikaru and I are... I doubt he's even gotten my bottle by now..."

"Bottle?" Yusei asked.

"... While you were gone, I wrote him a letter, and sent it out towards the Satellite... I put it in an empty wine bottle I found." Hikari responded. "Since I can't go back there, I at least wanted to tell him what happened to Sissy-cha.... And knowing Setsuna-Nii-san, he'll try all he can to break into Neo-Domino and find me.... Watashi wa baka na no da..."

"You are no idiot of any kind, Hikari-chan!" Tenpei said.

"... How could I... have just left him behind like that?..." Hikari asked.

"We'd better go home," Yusei said, picking her up by under her shoulders.

"I have to go home..." Hikari said, her head laid on Yusei's shoulder.

"We're going home," Yusei told her.

"Iie..." Hikari responded, shaking her head. "I have to go home... back to Genji... in the Satellite."

* * *

Saiga winced, the obnoxious sound of his ringtone causing him to stir from his sleep.

"Moshi moshi..." he yawned.

_**"Saiga?"**_

Saiga sat up straight, his eyes wide.

"Yusei?"

**_"Hai."_**

"- Nani?! Saiga-kun, what did you just say?!" Hikaru asked.

_"Sssh!!"_ Saiga hushed, the phone away from his ear. "Yusei? How did you get this number?"

_**"Let's just say I asked around..."**_

"I usually only accept calls when there's an emergency..."

**_"This qualifies as an emergency, alright."_** Yusei responded. _**"Are you still in the Satellite?"**_

"No, I'm heading back... I should be back to the mainland by the day of the Fortune Cup. Why you ask?" Saiga asked.

**_"Kami sore chikushou!!"_** Yusei swore, the sound of a punch being heard. _**"... Saiga, were you able to meet with mine and Hikari's brother, Setsuna Genji?"**_

"Yes, would you like to speak with him?"

A gasp.

**_"Say what?"_**

"Genji is returning to the mainland with me," Saiga responded. "Along with a few others."

**_"Rally and the other three?"_** Yusei asked.

"And another person, as well..."

"_Saiga-kuuuuuuun,_ let me talk to _hiiiiiiiiim!!_" Hikaru said, reaching for his phone. _"I wanna talk to him, I wanna I wanna I wanna!!"_

"You were supposed to be quiet!" Saiga responded.

"Hikaru-chan cannot quiet herself right now," Hikaru responded, running a hand through her hair. "Twinny-chan might wanna talk to me, you know!!"

_**"Saiga... is that... Hikaru?"**_

"... Damn it, Yusei... you're smarter than I thought..." Saiga responded.

**_"... B-but Hikari said-"_**

"Here, I'll put her on."

**_"Saiga, wait just a-"_**

"Hello?..."

Yusei was heard gasping again.

**_"... Hikaru?..."_**

Hikaru smiled.

"Hi, Yusei-Twinny-chan..."

* * *


	15. A Silver D Wheel

_**"I can't help but asking this, but... how is Hikari doing?"**_

Yusei looked over at the bed, where Hikari laid under the sheets, curled up asleep. Her arms were crossed, Kaoru laid upon them, and her head rested on them. Her skin was noticeably stained darker, giving her an almost deathly-looking pale white that did not suit her at all.

"Not too swell..." Yusei responded.

**_"Nani?! Is she alright?!"_**

"I wouldn't know how to answer that... all I can seem to grasp is that her mentality is deteriorating. She's broken down twice within a span of twenty-four hours..."

_**"... Did she... did she hurt herself?..."**_

"I don't think she intended to; she fell on broken glass... a few kids she befriended found her, came to get me, and by the looks of it, she was probably angry with herself..."

Yusei was sure that he heard sniffling coming from the other end of the phone.

_**"... Yusei, are you taking care of her?"**_

"Hai... as soon as we both realized we were family, she became the most important thing in my life..." Yusei responded.

_**"... I think for now, it may be best that she doesn't figure out that I'm alive..."**_

"Nani? What do you mean? If she knew you were alive she'd feel so much-"

**_"I want to tell her myself that nothing was her fault..."_** Hikaru said. _**"I have to tell her myself..."**_

"... I shouldn't tell her anything about Saiga bringing any of you, should I?" Yusei asked, feeling and sounding a little depressed.

**_"Twinny-chan, I promise you, as soon as we can sneak over without Security finding us, we'll be there, I promise..."_** Yusei could hear both the sadness and detirmination within his sister's voice. _**"... Te lo prometo, hermanito m o... lo prometo..."**_

Almost without a thought, Yusei heard words laying off of his tongue.

"Bueno, hermana mayor de las minas..." he responded, all of a sudden finding tiredness in his voice.

"Buenas noches, hermanito... dormir bien, y cuidar..." Hikaru spoke softly. "Te amo... Voy a verte pronto..."

"Bueno, hermana mayor..."

"Te amo..." they both whispered.

**Yusei: "A Silver D-Wheel."**

Hikaru let out a pleasant sigh.

"That was magical..." she said, leaning against the side of the boat. "It's amazing to think he's a living, breathing person..."

"Nee-chan, what were you talking in before?" Rally asked in curiosity, an eye brow raised up.

"Huh?" Hikaru asked. "- Oh! That was Spanish. We've known it for longer than we can even remember... our parents must have spoken it."

"We're fluent in it, just as much as Japanese." Genji responded.

"Does Hikari know it, too?" Rally asked.

"You betcha! She's my little hermanita!" Hikaru said. "That means 'baby sister'!"

"Do you really need to put 'little' in front of that, then?" Taka asked out of curiosity.

"Hey, individuality, dudes!" Hikaru responded.

"Can we go back to sleep now?" Nerve asked, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

"You do know you could have gone back to sleep at any moment, right? Just look at Saiga," Blitz pointed to the man wearing a hat. "He's drooling more than you do."

"He is not!! I can drool so much more than him!! Watch me!!"

"Nerve-"

"Night, Nii-san!!" Nerve exclaimed before he laid his head down on his arms. Barely a moment passed before snoring made its way up his throat.

Blitz blinked, but then sighed with a shrug. He sat down beside his younger brother, fixing his askew, blue bandanna.

"Night, Otouto..."

* * *

**_CLANK!!!_**

Yusei's eyes snapped open.

_**CLANK-CLANK!!!**_

_"Come... on... **stuuuuupiiiiiiid...**"_

**_CLANK!!!_**

Yusei said up, a hand at his eye.

"Hikari, is that you?" he asked.

The raven-haired male then winced as there was a sound similar to falling pots and pans.

"Gomen, Nii-sama. Did I wake you?" came Hikari's delicate voice from behind something... giant and silver?

"What in the world is that?" Yusei asked, kicking the blankets off and standing up.

"A D-Wheel a nice man gave away for free," Hikari responded.

"... Okay, elaborating would help very much, Imoto!" Yusei said, blinking over and over again.

"There was a raffle!!" Hikari said, waving her arms at her sides, hopping on her feet. "And Lua and Luka and Ten-chan were there, and they had tickets!! I counted up a bunch of my change so I could get a ticket, too!! And mine had the winning number on it!!" She then fished a light green slip of paper out of her pocket. Stamped onto it in blank ink was **"713"**, and beneath it was stamped in smaller print **"CUSTOMER'S COPY"**. "I won the first prize; it's a silver D-Wheel!!"

Yusei blinked, jaw-dropped.

"... Wow..." was all he could muster up to say.

"Don't just stare there all gawking-eyed, congratulate her!!" Lua said, popping out from behind the D-Wheel.

"And you know what else else?" Tenpei asked. "Hikari didn't even know she forgot her bandages, and no one was afraid of her!!"

"I didn't even notice it until Ten-chan pointed it out when we were on our way here," Hikari said.

"... Okay, how long was I out for?" Yusei asked, placing a hand on the top of his head.

"It's almost noon now, Nii-san." Hikari responded. "You were really tired... you didn't even wake up when Lua slammed into the garage door."

"I have got to start getting my ass into bed at earlier times." Yusei said, rubbing the top of his head. "I gotta have my eye on you..."

"Hikari-chan's not completely helpless, you know," Luka said. "You gotta give her a little bit of credit, Yusei-kun."

"Hikari doesn't mind one bit," Hikari said, continuing to push the D-Wheel inside. "Besides, I love my Nii-san a lot!!"

Yusei blinked before he found himself smiling.

"I should probably put my pants on," Yusei said.

* * *

"I thought you were sleeping, Hikaru."

"Hm?" Hikaru looked over her shoulder. Her guitar was in her lap, and she gave the awake bluenette a smile. "Who's winning the drool war?"

"Saiga-kun, by a long shot for sure." Blitz responded, a towel on his leg, where Nerve had decided to place his head after waking up for a short moment. "Childish as ever, he sure can be..." he said, one of his hands on Nerve's arm.

"Story of my life," Hikaru said, brushing a piece of hair from her face. "And I can't really sleep... I was right before. Hikari is sad... so I'm singing for her, so she can stay happy!"

"Wouldn't she want her sister to rest, though?" Blitz asked.

"Knowing my Lil' Light, most likely..." Hikaru responded. "But I have to keep my light lit! If she burns out before I can get to her..."

"... I bet she'd never burn out for you..." Blitz said.

"She can't burn out..." Hikaru responded. "Hikari is hikari, and hikari is Hikari." she said smoothly, not tumbling with her words. "Without Hikari, the world would no longer be a nice place. She won't be able to grace the surrounding air with her voice, giggle as eyes admire her... she's like the moon. Me, I'm kinda the sun... but both the moon and the sun are dependant on one another. While one works its way around the world, the other one is always halfway behind it or ahead of it. It's like Yin and Yang, how they work..."

Hikaru's eyes were closed, and she began to breathe through her mouth. With her guitar in her lap, head leaning against the side of the boat, she finally fell asleep.

Blitz smiled.

"Hikari must be shining down on her..." he whispered before leaning back again. Keeping one of his arms on Nerve, he too, fell asleep once more.

Hikari's light was putting them at ease.

* * *

"So, are you all having fun today?"

"How about a whole lot?!" Lua asked.

"As a matter of fact, there's a carnival taking place around where the Black Rose Witch was a few days ago." Tenpei said. "We were gonna go there."

"Nii-san, you should come with us!" Hikari said, grasping one of Yusei's hands, tugging on it lightly.

"I really wish I could, Kari, but the Fortune Cup is in less than two days now. And I'm a little on edge, since I won't know how my friends are doing until Saiga returns." Yusei responded.

"Hikari knows," she responded. "But Hikari is also worried for Setsuna-Nii-san, and Sissy-cha always told me the only way to stop nervousness for things like that is to keep yourself occupied!" She held up a finger, and poked Yusei's nose. "Big brothers always know best."

"Might I remind the little girl here that I am both an older brother and a little brother?" Yusei asked, gently pushing her hand down.

"Please, Nii-san?" Hikari pouted, her lower lip sticking out.

_**"Agh!! Not the face!!"**_ Yusei panicked, covering his eyes with his hands almost immediately.

"Come on Yusei, don't be such a party-pooper!" Lua said.

"I think there's a dueling tournament," Luka said. "Does that persuade you?"

_"Pweeeaaaaaase?"_ Hikari asked, her eyes sparkling.

"Puppy eyes?" Himuro asked from behind the three friends of Hikari.

"Spot on." Tenpei nodded.

Shaking, Yusei parted his fingers, poking an eye out to look. It was a big mistake.

"Okay, okay, Hikari! You win!" he semi-whined, putting his hands down.

"It'll be lotsa fun, I promise, Nii-sama!" Hikari said, throwing her arms around him.

"This will be a great day..." Tenpei said.

"Aw, does someone wanna play the part of a superhero?" Luka teased.

"Hey! I may be small, but I'm tougher than I look!" Tenpei responded.

"We'll shoot to leave in three hours, okay?" Yusei asked as he turned back to his D-Wheel.

"Okay!"

"... Okay, Yusei, did your D-Wheel give birth?..." Himuro asked.

* * *


	16. El Fiesta De Arco Iris

"Whoa, Hikari! Where'd you get that?"

"I gave Hikari some of my old clothes," Luka said. "I can just never seem to throw any clothes away, and since she only has one pair of clothes, I thought she'd like some."

"And I promised Luka-chan I'd pay her back," Hikari said. She was dressed in a baby blue turtle-neck sweater with a white skirt that went down to just above her knees.

"Hikari-chan, you don't need to. It's fine," Luka responded.

"Setsuna-Nii-san always said we shouldn't accept charity for free..."

"You're not charity, you're our friend." Tenpei said.

"I couldn't have said it better myself," Luka said.

"You guys are too nice," Hikari said.

**Yusei: "El Fiesta De Arco Iris."**

_"Nerve... Nerve... Nerve!..."_

_"Mama, five more minutes..."_

**_"NERVE, WAKE UP!!!"_** Blitz shouted, causing flying sea gulls around the boat to change their directions.

**_"- WHAZMA?!?!"_** Nerve exclaimed, jolting up into a sitting position.

"Come on, we gotta stay awake for a while." Blitz said.

"_Waaaaaah..._ Nii-san, I was all comfy and _haaaaaaaaaaappyyyyyy..._" Nerve whined childishly.

"It's getting more dangerous for us to be here now that we're closer to the city." Blitz said. "Saiga said its best we sleep in shifts."

"Great..." Nerve responded, his eyes closing. "Let's get started..."

"Uh-oh, Nervu's getting sick again!" Rally said, holding his hands as fists beneath his chin.

"Damn it, where the hell did I put his medicine?!" Blitz exclaimed, searching through his pockets. "Ah ha!" he said, pulling out a small bottle. His happy expression then faded and he sweat-dropped. "It's expired..."

"Nerve-chan's sick?" Hikaru asked.

"Yeah..." Blitz responded, opening the expired bottle of medicine. "Ever since he was a baby he's been sick..."

"It's his heart, right?" Rally asked.

"That's right," Blitz responded, staring into the bottle with an eye. "Expired and near empty... damn it..."

Hikaru: _**In the green of early autumn,  
At the foot of a tree...  
Violets are scattered, and pansies bloom...  
Purple-petaled, and blue...**_

"Onee-chan, you're trying to help serenade Nervu-chan into better health?" Rally asked.

"It's what I do, Ralls!" Hikaru responded.

"Nerve, will you be okay without medicine for a few days?" Blitz asked.

"Expect a lot of crying and whining..." Nerve responded.

* * *

_**"Come on, guys!! We're waiting!!"**_

_**"Hold your horses, Lua-chan!!"**_

"Is something the matter, Nii-san?" Hikari asked, her attention turned away from the two restless boys, patient girl, and Yusei's two friends.

"No, I just remembered where I put the present I got you." Yusei responded, a hand in his pocket. "Close your eyes,"

"Okay," Hikari did what she was told. Soon after, she felt Yusei doing something to her two ponytails - making them tighter, it felt, but that didn't seem like something Yusei would do, brother or not. "What are you doing, Nii-san?"

"You'll see in one second. And... okay! You can open them now!"

Opening her eyes, Hikari glanced up at her hair. Not seeing anything, she lifted one of her hands up, feeling at the ties of her ponytails. She felt something silky-smooth on her ponytails in the shape of bows.

"Blue ribbons," Yusei said. "I thought they'd make your hair look nice and pretty. They do... and they also add to your cuteness factor."

Hikari smiled, and then gave Yusei another hug.

"Arigatou, na no da, Nii-san!" she said. "I love them a lot!"

**_"Coooooooome ooooooooonnnnn!!"_** Lua exclaimed, running in place. _**"Hurry up, you slow pokes!!"**_

"We'd better shut him up," Yusei said as they pulled apart. Hikari giggled in response. Hikari held Yusei's left hand with her right, held Kaoru tightly in her left arm, and then followed after her brother's lead onto the festival's grounds from the entrance.

"Kami, you two are too slow!!" Lua complained.

"You could have very easily have rushed off," Hikari retorted.

"Girls..." Lua mumbled, rolling his eyes.

"Pardon?" Luka asked, growling.

_**"Gyaaaaaah!! Luka, don't kill me!!"**_ Lua exclaimed, taking off.

**_"I am so going to get you for that one!!"_** Luka shrieked as she sped off after him.

"There goes their spatting again..." Tenpei sighed, sweat-dropping. "And they promised they wouldn't fight today, too..."

"They're just like Blitz and Nerve," Yusei said.

"Who?" Tenpei asked.

"Two of my friends from back in the Satellite," Yusei responded. "Blitz and Nerve are brothers, and they have some sort of a ritual where they have to fight or tease one another at least once a day. Nerve does more teasing than Blitz, though, because Blitz just down-right embarrasses himself when he takes up teasing fights." Yusei covered his mouth as he laughed a bit. "Always entertaining those two were..."

"Sissy-cha always used to tease Setsuna," Hikari said. "She always said he had a girly name, that he'd scare little children, and if he touched her sugar, she'd carve his eyes out with a plastic spoon."

"... Was she demented?" Tenpei asked, his jaw twitching.

"She was very smart... why does everyone always ask that?" Hikari asked.

"I think it's just because she seems very different," Yusei said.

"That's right!" Hikari said.

"Are you happy now, Luka?"

"Hai. Arigatou."

"Nani?" Tenpei asked, eying the stuffed turtle Luka held in her arms. "Where'd you get that?"

"Won it for Luka as a peace offering," Lua responded.

"Nani?" Hikari asked. "They just give them away?"

"Hai. That's what a game prize usually is," Tenpei said. "Typically a toy."

"Do a lot of people get them?" Hikari asked.

"Usually,"

"It must hurt their hands to sew up so many things," she said, looking down at Kaoru.

"They don't make them themselves, factory workers make them." Lua said.

"It would take a long time to answer all of this Hikari-chan," Luka began, taking Hikari's free hand. "The games are fun, though! Even if you don't win; you should try one! Let's go!" she said, running towards a row of booths, bringing Hikari along behind her.

_**"Hey, Luka!! Remember, we're supposed to stay together!!"**_ Lua called.

"... Yusei-kun, can I ask you something?" Tenpei asked as they followed after the two girls.

"Fire away." Yusei responded.

"Uh... doyouknowwhathikarisfavoriteanimalis?!?!" Tenpei blurted out.

"Come again?"

Tenpei took in a deep breath and then exhaled.

"Do you know what Hikari's favorite animal is?" Tenpei asked, this time slower, only still in his nervous tone.

"... It never occurred to me to ask her, actually..." Yusei said, a hand on his chin.

"Oh..." Tenpei said, hanging his head.

"But she loves anything that's cute," Yusei added.

"Alright then!!" Tenpei said, standing back up straight with his fists by his chin. "I'll win her the cutest stuffed animal I can find to make up for being such an asshole!!"

_**"Ten-chan and Kari-chan, sittin' in a tree, C-A-S-S-I-N-T!!"**_

"You mean _**'K-I-S-S-I-N-G'**_, genious," Tenpei retorted. In response, Lua stuck out his tongue.

_**"That's just degrading!"**_

"Huh?" Tenpei asked, looking towards a booth.

Luka was standing in front of Hikari with her fists up, an angered look on her face.

"You can't do that!" Luka exclaimed angrily.

"What's going on here?" Yusei asked once they caught up.

"This dude is refusing to let Hikari play because of her marks, and says that the only way he'll let her play is if she gets permission from a police officer!" Luka responded angrily.

"Sir, I believe that violates the law," Tenpei said, pushing his glasses up his nose. "You can't deny service to someone just because you don't like them, how they look, if they're of a certain races, backround or ethnicity. And, might I add this," He then took from his pocket a PDA of some sort. "Electrical devices such as this can read the information stored in the marks. And as you can see,"

Hikari blinked when Tenpei placed the gizmo on her cheek, which scanned a blue light on her three marks. When it beeped, Tenpei then held it up for the runner to see. It had Hikari's picture on it, and it said **"NO CRIMINAL RECORD PRESENT"**.

"She isn't a criminal," Tenpei finished his sentence. "Now, if you would please let her play-"

"How do I know you didn't rig that?" the man asked, turning his head away.

Yusei smacked his hands down onto the table, certainly gaining the booth owner's attention. He jumped, backing away in fear, holding up his hands.

"Since sweet-talking is getting us nowhere, here's where the threats come in." Yusei said, glaring icy-cold daggers at the man. "Here's the deal: either you let my sister play your game, or I'll take those bottles and shove them where the sun don't shine, and then I'll drag you kicking and screaming to Security if I very damn well have to. And if that doesn't work, I'll just beat the pulp out of you anyway! Because you know what, bucko?"

"Wh-what?..." the runner asked.

"Come closer," Yusei said, wagging his finger. Shakily, the man approached him again. Yusei then grasped him by the shirt collar, and began to shake him. _**"I ain't afraid to go back to the detention center!! What do you think of that?!?! Not so tough now, are you?!?!"**_

**_"Have mercy on me, have mercy on me!!"_** the man exclaimed.

"And if I hear anything about you not letting people with marks play, I'll hunt you down and break your neck by hand!" Yusei brought their faces close together. "Got it?"

"Crystal clear!"

* * *

_**"Blitzu-chama, Blitzu-chamaaaa!!"**_

"Not now, Rally..."

"Come on, Blitz, look up in the sky, look up in the sky!!"

Sighing, Blitz caved, looking up to where Rally pointed.

"It's a rainbow!!" Rally said, his hands on his hips as he stared up at the sky. "Isn't it so pretty?"

"Look, there's another one!" Blitz said, pointing up in another direction.

"Wow..." Rally said, astounded.

"I see a double rainbow," Genji said, pointing up.

"It's like a painting!!" Rally exclaimed.

"Ha... that must mean the festival is today," Saiga said.

"Festival?" Hikaru asked.

"Yeah, there's a festival on a day that rainbows appear in the sky; almost like magic." Saiga said. "They call it The Festival Of Rainbows."

"Ooo... El Fiesta De Arco Iris!!" Hikaru said, staring up to the sky.

"Nani?" Rally asked.

"That's 'The Festival Of Rainbows' in Spanish!" Hikaru said. "I wish we could make it in time... then when we meet up with Hikari and Yusei, we could all go together!"

"Not to burst your bubbles, but I planned it so that we wouldn't arrive on the day of the festival." Saiga said.

"Nani?! Why?!" Rally asked.

"Security is crawling all over the city that day," Saiga responded. "Besides, if we're not caught, you can go to one. They're usually a few months apart from each other. Normally, there's about four a year."

"Wow... and people really like The Day Of Rainbows?" Rally asked.

"Yeah. They send out paper lanterns onto the water with a wish or a trouble of theirs written in it." Saiga said. "It's like a way for people to cleanse themselves. But, it's more so for the population of people who live in the lower areas of the city, saying as all of the rich people in Neo-Domino wouldn't want to waste their time with something like wishing."

"Hm..." Hikaru said, leaning back with a strum of her fingers over the guitar strings. "It sounds so nice... you know what? We should send out our own lanterns," Her eyes were shut as she gently strummed the strings, humming lightly. _**"Dear sun, shine down on me and thaw this frozen heart! Yeah... like an ice cream cone that's been in a microwave oven!"**_

"... Karu, are you feeling alright?" Genji asked.

"Maybe..." she responded. "I think all of this sun is giving me more energy than normal," Hikaru said, staring up at the clouds. "I'm just soaking it all up and can't release it as I normally do..."

"That, and there's the fact that you're stuck on a boat with nothing but boys," Taka said.

"Takaku-chama!! I almost forgot you were here; you've been really quiet!!" Rally said.

"I haven't had to break up Blitzkrieg and Nerve's fighting is why," Taka responded.

"Lemme see," Hikaru began, strumming at the strings of her guitar. "Before I begin to serenade for Nerve-chan's health again, I must try and remember the song..."

Hikaru: _**There's a song running through my head,  
Something that somebody said...  
"A lovely summer holiday by the sea,"**_

"Hikaru, where did you hear that?" Genji asked.

"Didn't hear it, it's been stuck in my head since my memories were erased." Hikaru responded, lightly knocking her fist on the side of her head. "I still can't remember where it came from, even with my memories back. I can't ever seem to remember the finish of it... even when I was remembering everything that happened..."

"Nee-chan, sing!! Nee-chan, grace us with your voice!!" Rally said, whom was laying on his stomach, head propped up by his fists. He was kicking his legs behind him.

"I shall, Ralls!" Hikaru responded, beginning the playing of her instrument again.

Hikaru: _**There's a song running through my head,  
Something that somebody said...  
"A lovely summer holiday by the sea,"  
That's what they said to me...**_

_**In my mind, I hear the words,  
The prettiest words you've ever heard...  
There is an unforgettable treasure,  
A beautiful gift that has no measure...**_

_**There's a picture that I can see...**_

Hikaru took a pause, her playing stopped.

"Huh... I've never heard anything like that before," Genji said, blinking.

"I think my mind is still blurry..." Hikaru said, placing her right hand on top of her head. "I must have hit my head pretty gosh darn badly..."

"No, Karu. Actually, it's normal." Genji said. "We can't remember things as clearly as many other people because of the accident. So that part isn't your fault..."

_"... Hikaru-chan?..."_

"Huh?" Blitz looked down at Nerve, who was resting his head in his lap. "Nerve, you shouldn't be awake right now. Your heart..."

_"... I think I know what it might be..."_ Nerve whispered, his eyes barely open.

"What what might be, Nerve-chan?" Hikaru asked.

_"... The song..."_

"My song?" Hikaru asked, a hand on her chin curiously. "What does Nervu-chan think it could be?"

_"... It's a key..."_ Nerve began. _"... To your past... memories..."_ he was barely able to say before his eyes shut fully.

"Nani?..." Hikaru blinked. "A key?"

* * *

"Kami, Yusei. I've never seen you snap like that before," Himuro said.

"I lose my cool for one second..." Yusei mumbled, adjusted the collar of his jacket.

"Looks like the sky is filled right now," Luka said, staring upwards.

"Luka, watch where you're going. You don't want to bump into people, do you?" Yusei asked.

"Okay," Luka said, stepping to the side of the walking crowd, nearly making the others stumble to reach her again.

"Are you nuts?!" Himuro asked.

"No, I'm observant!" Luka responded, gold eyes still looking upwards. "This is The Festival Of Rainbows, after all," she added.

"The Festival Of Rainbows?" Hikari asked.

"Luka, you forgot that they don't know what that means!!" Lua said.

"That's why we came here in the first place, Lua," Luka said. "Look up there, Hikari-chama." she said, pointing up to the sky.

"Okay," Hikari said. She picked her head up, and almost immediately, ocean-blue eyes lit up upon seeing the colorful sky. "Huay... bonita arco iris!" she exclaimed, jumping on the tips of her feet. Her jump made the necklace she won from Ring Toss around her neck bounce in the air. It was a black chain holding a clear crystal, and in the crystal was a sky blue-colored gem in the shape of a crescent moon.

_"... Boney who's it's what nows?"_ Lua asked.

"It's Spanish for 'pretty rainbows', `su!!" Hikari responded.

"So you know Spanish?" Tenpei asked.

"Yep. Fluent in it, as well! Bilingual, I am!" Hikari said.

"Nifty," Luka said.

"Hey, come on! Who wants to go on the Ferris Wheel?" Lua asked.

"Ferris Wheel?" Hikari asked.

"You've got a lot to learn, Kari-sama. That's for sure." Luka said.

"No matter how much there is," Tenpei began. "We'll help you learn all we can!"

"Arigatou na no da, Ten-chan!" Hikari responded, smiling.

**_"Ten-chan and Kari-chan, sittin' in a tree..."_** Lua sung softly, mockingly into Tenpei's ear.

**_"I AM SO GOING TO GET YOU FOR THAT ONE, LUA!!!"_** Tenpei screeched, swinging a fist at the sea foam green-haired boy, whom jumped out of the way, laughing.

_"Missed me, missed me! Now you gotta kiss me!"_ Lua mocked, his arms folded behind his head.

**_"No way!!"_** Tenpei shrieked.

"Oh? Is that so?" Lua asked. "Then why not-"

**_"YOU'D BETTER RUN, AND RUN QUICK, LUA!!!"_** Tenpei shouted, striding towards Lua.

**_"- Whoaaaaa!! Ten-chan's mad at me!!"_** Lua exclaimed, running away.

**_"_'ROYALLY PISSED OFF'_ FITS IT MORE!!!"_** Tenpei shouted, running after Lua with his arms out in front of him, as if wanting to strangle him.

"Those two... they're causing such a scene..." Luka said, sweat-dropping, giving a sigh as they headed off after them. "All they'll end up doing is making fools of themselves..."

_**"Events, events! Check out the events and contests taking place this evening! Take a flyer, take a flyer! Prizes are granted!"**_

"Events?" Luka said, looking over the flyer she was handed.

"Events?" Hikari asked as well, looking over her flyer. "Oh! Nii-sama, there's a duelsu!"

"I see," Yusei said.

"Nii-san should enter; it'll be the perfect practice for you before the tournament in a few days!" Hikari said.

"Look at all of this!" Luka said, looking down the list. "Dueling, dancing, poetry, cosplays..."

"_'Let your voice shine more than the rainbows at the _**Coloring Your Voice Singing Contest!**_ Sign up by three o'clock if you wish to compete!'_" Hikari read. "Sounds like the kind of thing Sissy-cha would sink her teeth into the moment she found out about it..."

"Ah, Hikari-chan, didn't you mention that music is a big part of your family?" Luka asked.

"Hai, I did say that..." Hikari said.

"Can you sing?" Luka asked.

"E-eh, I'm not the best in the worldsu, but..." Hikari began.

"You should enter it, for sure!" Luka encouraged. "If you face your fears of being put down because of your marks, you'll definitely be granted some major respect! Who knows, maybe people will love you so much that word will spread around, and then you'll be offered record labels!"

"But... what should I sing?..." Hikari asked.

"Huuu... let's see..." Luka began, looking down at her stuffed turtle. "I bet they'd love to hear something original, if you've got that."

"Original?" Hikari asked.

"Yeah. Like a song not produced professionally by a recording artist... not on CDs, radio, or licenced by a company." Luka said. "Something you wrote by yourself, basically."

"Eh... I was never such a good musical composer..." Hikari said, sweat-dropping. "Sissy-cha was amazing, thoughsu. Left and right, she'd pop out lyrics. Sometimes she'd even wake Setsuna and I up at night so we could listen to her singingsu."

"Do you know any of her songs?" Luka asked.

"Yeah... we'd always learn them together and sing them togethersu..." Hikari said, sighing. "But no matter how many she wrote and sung, the one she wrote for Nii-san has always been my favoritesu."

"Neh? Your sister wrote you a song, Yusei-kun?" Luka asked.

"Hai. It sounds a little silly, though..." Yusei responded.

"But, Nii-san said he loves it toosu!" Hikari said.

"You should sing it for the contest, Hikari-chan!" Luka said, smiling.

"Nani?"

"Contest?"

"Oh, Lua, Ten-chan. Seems you've stopped fighting." Luka said.

"We got hungry," Lua responded, chewing on his cotton candy. "What is it you were talking about?"

"We just got this list of a bunch of events happening here today," Luka responded. "Yusei's going to enter the dueling tournament, and Hikari's going to enter the singing contest!"

**_"- Whaaaaa!!"_** Hikari exclaimed, flailing her arms around in a helpless manner. _**"I don't know if I cansu!! I'd be too embarrassedsu!! Even for my Hikaru-Sissy-cha!!"**_

"C-c'mon, Hikari-chan! Don't say that!" Lua said. "I'm sure you'd be great!"

_"- Whoa!!"_ Tenpei exclaimed when Lua jerked him towards them by his arm, nearly dropping his cotton candy.

"Don't you think she'd do great, Ten-chan?!" Lua asked.

"Y-yeah..." Tenpei said. "Hikari-chan has a pretty voice."

"Huay..." Hikari said, hiding her face behind Kaoru. _"Shaisu..."_

"Hikari, I think it may be a good idea."

"Nani?" Hikari asked, picking her head up, looking at Yusei. "What might be a good idea, Nii-san?"

"Entering the contest," Yusei responded.

"I don't know if I couldsu..." Hikari said, her cheeks lightly dusted pink. "I'm no where near as brave as you or Hikaru or Setsuna..."

"Well, you could think of it this way," Yusei began. "You'd be entering in Hikaru's place. I'm sure tons of people would think her song is pretty, and cute, too. Besides, I bet it would make them think of rainbows."

"Enter in her placesu?" Hikari asked.

"Hai. It could be your requiem for her memories," Yusei said.

"Huay..." Hikari said, looking down into Kaoru's eyes - the very teddy bear Hikaru had sewed up for her. Just for her.

_**"Here you go, Hikari!!"**_

_**"Wooooowsu!! Sissy-cha, you made him just for mesu?!"**_

_**"All for you, Lil' Light!!"**_

_**"Kaoru will be his namesu!! After my favorite Sissy-cha, Hikaru!!"**_

_**"Aw, Lil' Light!! Too sweet you are!!"**_

_**"`Su!! I love you, Sissy-cha!!"**_

_**"And I love you, Lil' Light!!"**_

_**"Nipaasu!!"**_

Hikari found herself smiling, staring down into Kaoru's button-eyes.

"Alrightsu!! I'll enter for Sissy-cha, and dedicate it to hersu!!" Hikari said.

"That's the spirit of The Festival Of Rainbows, Hikari-chan!" Lua said.

"Do your best, Kari-sama!" Luka said.

"I'll cheer for you before during and after it!!" Tenpei said.

"And until then, let's all have as much fun as we can for the festival!!" Lua said.

**_"El Fiesta De Arco Iris!!"_** Hikari cheered.

* * *


	17. True Colors

The crowd cheered, chanting _**"Yusei, Yusei!! Yusei, Yusei!!"**_

"Fight it with all you can, Tenpei, Yusei!!" Lua shouted.

"Give it your all, Nii-sama, Ten-chan!!" Hikari called.

"Junk Warrior, attack!!" Yusei said.

**Yusei L.P./0250**

**Tenpei L.P./0000**

_**"And the winner of the Rainbow Dueling Tournament,"**_ came the announcer's voice. _**"Fudo Yusei!!"**_

"Nice dueling, Tenpei." Yusei said, offering the boy a hand.

"A-arigatou," Tenpei responded, taking the gloved hand in his hand, pulled back up onto his feet. "I need work, though..."

"We all do," Yusei said.

_**"Let's give it up for winner Fudo Yusei, and second place winner Hayano Tenpei!!"**_

Almost in unison, the two boys bowed. Yusei held a hand over his chest as he did so; over his heart, it seemed.

**_"Every one, thank you for competing!! It was an intense competition!! And for our first place winner, he wins a brand-new, synchro monster!!"_**

Someone walked out on the stage, holding a card in his hand.

**_"Congradulations, Fudo Yusei!!"_** the announcer said as he was handed the card. Yusei bowed respectfully in response.

Yusei looked at the card, almost gasping when he saw the letters above the picture.

_Hikari No Tenshi._

**Yusei: "True Colors."**

Hikaru: _**In the green of early autumn,  
At the foot of a tree...  
Violets are scattered, and pansies bloom...  
Purple-petaled, and blue...**_

"Karu... I've got to ask... aren't you getting tired?" Genji asked, barely able to keep his head up.

"Nope." Hikaru responded with a smile. When she closed her eyes to blink, she ended up falling over onto her side, not opening them back.

"Out like a light, I knew it, I knew it, I knew it..." Genji said before yawning. "Kami, I feel beat..."

"You guys sleep, I'm awake as ever." Saiga said.

"Me, too..." Blitz said.

"I wouldn't worry too much, Blitz-sama," Genji said, putting Hikaru's gutair back into its case. "I'm sure Nerve will be fine soon enough..." he said before curling up into a loose ball next to Hikaru.

_I can only hope so..._

* * *

"That's almost down-right creepy," Himuro said.

"So you're saying Hikari-chan's creepy now?" Lua asked.

"You're putting words in my mouth." Himuro said.

"If you were a Duel Monster, that's exactly what you'd look like, Hikari-chan!!" Tenpei exclaimed.

"It is prettysu..."

Hikari could only look at the picture on the card in disbelief. The picture was of a small angel wearing all white. She had long, silver hair, pure-white eyes, and she had white sashes tied onto herself here and there. She looked like she was standing in the wind, her hands over her heart, giving her a kind, motherly-like look and feeling.

The angel almost looked holy.

Hikari smiled.

"Maybe it's an omensu,"

"Omlet?... Hikari, you make omlets out of eggs, not cards..." Lua said. "Man, you really do have a lot to learn..."

"Boys are too dense..." Luka sighed roughly. "Omens are different from omlets, Lua!! An omen is a sign that is either good or bad; in this case, it's most likely a good omen."

"How is it a good omen?" Lua asked.

"It's portraying Hikari as a tenshi," Luka said. "And a tenshi is almost always a good thing! I wouldn't know how they're bad at all, though."

"But... when you die..."

"Huh?" Tenpei asked.

"... you become a tenshi when you die and go to heavensu..." Hikari said.

"Iie, Hikari!! Don't think of it like that!!" Lua said.

"Y-yeah!! I bet this is a good omen, a good one!! Like Luka said!!" Tenpei said.

"I suppose... `su..."

**_"Attention, attention!! All of the people who made entries for the_ Coloring Your Voice Singing Contest,_ please report to the backstage area right now!! You'll each need to speak with the band so they can provide you the correct backround music!! Arigatou!!"_**

"Oh, Hikari! That means you!" Yusei said.

"Rightsu! I'd better gosu!" Hikari said.

"Good luck, Hikari!" Lua and Luka said.

"Do your best!" Tenpei said.

"I willsu!" Hikari said. "Nii-san, could you look after Kaoru for me?" she asked, holding up her teddy bear for Yusei.

"Of course," Yusei said, taking the bear into his hands.

"Arigatou!! Hikari pipped before she headed around for the backstage area.

"Good luck, Aka-chan!!" Yanagi called.

"I wonder..." Yusei began, holding Kaoru in his arms like a baby.

"Nani?" Lua asked.

"... what _Twirling, Whirling_ will sound like with instruments set to it..." Yusei finished, his eyes locked onto the ribbons flowing with Hikari's hair as she ran off.

* * *

"Nervu-chan, itadakimasu!"

_"... No thanks..."_

"Nervu-chan, come on, you've got to eat something."

Nerve groaned, keeping himself curled up into a ball. Hikaru held chopsticks with a piece of an onigiri held between them near his mouth.

"Otouto... I know you're in pain, but you've got to try and eat. You won't get better if you don't..." Blitz said.

_"... Itai..."_

"Hikaru hasn't been serenading as much as she should, has she?" Hikaru asked, scolding herself. "Hikaru will get back to work!!"

"Damn it, he needs that medicine..." Blitz said. "And the next few days will be a long, sufferable hell for him without it..."

_"Onii-sama..."_

"Don't worry, Nervu-san..." Rally said. "We'll get you your medicine as soon as we get to the mainland,"

_For Nerve's sake, I hope Rally's right..._ Blitz thought. _Honestly... I can't imagine what it would be like for me to live without him..._

* * *

Boy: **_... Ah, machigae ta..._**

The brunette teen with short hair bowed when the crowd clapped and cheered.

"Ne, Hikari's got a lot of competition to face from everyone else," Lua said.

"I know she'll do her best, even if she doesn't win." Luka said.

"Hopefully," Tenpei mumbled.

**_"And now, our thirteenth and final contestant,"_** the announcer began.

"Thirteen?! Unlucky!!" Tenpei exclaimed.

"That's just superstition, Ten-chan!" Lua said.

_**"Every one welcome the kawaii imoto of our dueling tournament winner, Fudo Hikari!!"**_

When the red curtains parted, Hikari was seen standing center stage in front of a microphone. It was lowered as much as it could go so she could reach it. Her cheeks were bright red.

"H-hello, everyonesu..." Hikari began, her voice soft and meek. "B-before I start singingsu, I want to say that... I'm dedicating this to my onee-chan, Fudo Hikaru. She wrote this song for Yusei-Nii-san when we were really little, and she died recentlysu.... S-so, this is for Hikaru." she said.

The band conductor waited for applause to tone down before he tapped his baton on his music stand.

"And one, two, three,"

Hikari: _**Twirling, whirling, round we go.  
Twirling high, and twirling low.  
Twirling round we go...**_

"Wow... Hikari's voice is beautiful..." Tenpei gasped.

Hikari: _**Twirling, whirling, round we go.  
Twirling fast, and twirling slow.  
Twirling round we go...**_

"So beautiful..." Luka said, listening with her eyes closed. Her hands were folded underneath her chin.

Hikari: _**Twirling, whirling, round we go.  
Twirling high, and twirling low.  
See the colors skip and flow...**_

_**See the ribbons as they blow...  
Twirling round we go...**_

Just as Hikari trailed off of her note, the entire crowd of people began to cheer, whistle and clap. She slipped her eyes open again, and scanning the crowd, she saw Yusei smiling at her. She then smiled.

"Arigatou na no da!" Hikari said, bowing as the curtains drew closed.

* * *

Hikaru: **_In the green of early autumn,  
At the foot of a tree...  
Violets are scattered, and pansies bloom...  
Purple-petaled, and blue..._**

**_In the green of early autumn,  
At the foot of a tree...  
Violets are scattered, and pansies bloom... _**

**_In the green of early autumn,  
At the foot of a tree...  
Violets are scattered, and pansies bloom...  
Purple-petaled, and blue... _**

"Hikaru... please... we have to sleep..." Genji whined. "It won't hurt to stop until morning..."

"I have to make Nervu-chama feel better... and I have to sing for Hikari and Twinny-chan..."

"I can't give up now, Setsuna-chan!!" Hikaru exclaimed, standing on her feet, holding her gutair up in the air by its neck like it was a flag. "If I stop now, things may just get worse!!"

"Hikaru, put the gutair away and go to sleep!! And for the love of Kami... _**STOP CALLING ME 'SETSUNA' AND 'CHAN'!!!**_"

"Then can I call you 'Nahc-Anustes'?"

**_"WHAT THE HELL IS NACHO-ANT NUTS?!?!"_**

"'Setsuna-chan' backwards!!"

"Keep it down!!" Saiga hushed. "We could be thrown overboard for being so damn loud!!"

"Actually, this is an automatic boat..." Blitz said, holding up a finger.

"I mean we'd throw each other overboard..."

"Don't do that!!" Blitz exclaimed.

"I'm not the best swimmer..." Hikaru said, rubbing the back of her head.

"And yet, you didn't drown while unconscious with amnesia..." Genji said, sweat-dropping.

"Look, all of you, just go to sleep! I'm keeping lookout for the night," Saiga said. "Besides, you'd better rest as much as you can before we get to the mainland. Kami knows what time of day it'll be when we get there..."

"See, Hikaru? Listen to Saiga-ku-"

Genji sweat-dropped, eyes narrow at the sight of Hikaru already curled up asleep.

"Such a pain in the ass... but, I gotta love her..." he said, his eye brows twitching as he lowered himself down.

_"Momma..."_

* * *

"You did a really great job, Hikari!!" Lua exclaimed.

"I'm still feeling pins and needles!!" Luka said.

"Congradulations, Hikari-chan." Tenpei said. "Y-you sounded really pretty... - Your voice!! It-it sounded pretty - beautiful, actually."

"Arigatou, but you're making me blush..." Hikari said, hiding her face behind her hands.

"We should go home now," Yusei said, holding out Kaoru. "It's getting late."

"Okay, Nii-sama..." Hikari said, taking back Kaoru.

"Lets use the bathroom quick first," Luka said. "It'll be a bit of a walk back, considering all of the people leaving."

"Yeah... and come to think of it, I think that our soda-chugging contest wasn't such a good idea, Ten-chan..." Lua said, wiggling around with his hands between his legs.

"I told you, I wasn't trying to make a contest out of it!!" Tenpei said, doing the same exact thing Lua was; wiggling with his hands between his legs. "Thanks to your short attention span, it feels like my bladder's going to explode!!"

"You were asking for trouble when you got a Double Gulp!!" Lua said.

"You were asking for much more trouble when you downed six Double Gulps!!" Tenpei said.

"Now is no time to fight over bladder control!!" Luka said, grabbing a wrist from both boys, nearly dragging them after her, Hikari walking right beside her. "I am not cleaning your underwear again, Lua!! We're going now!!"

"Tenpei, don't forget your bag." Yusei said, handing the brunette his blue backpack.

"Thanks, Yusei!!" Tenpei said, only just grasping one of its straps before he was out of its reach.

"Luka, do you know if _it_ can fall off?"

"Stop asking me disturbing questions, Lua!!"

"I can ask on blogs later," Tenpei said.

"Is that even a smart idea?!" Luka asked.

"I don't get it either, Kaoru..." Hikari said, sweat-dropping.

"What?! Who?! Where?! How?!" Lua exclaimed. "What?! What did he say?!"

* * *

"Nani? Ten-chan?"

"Huh?" Tenpei asked, looking to the side. "- Oh?! Hikari-chan!!" he exclaimed.

"Lua-chan still isn't out?" Hikari asked, standing beside him against the brick wall.

"I-iie... I think he might be a few more minutes..." Tenpei responded. "What about Luka-chan?"

"Someone accidentally spilt a bit of soda in her hair," Hikari said. "She's washing her hair a out right now so it won't be too bad for her to do later."

"I'd like to know why someone would bring food and drinks into a bathroom of all places," Tenpei said. "I mean, come on, they're all filled with germs, they don't smell pleasant to begin with, and who would even wanna eat in there? My stomach's churning at the thought of it..."

"I agree with you..." Hikari said, staring up at the sky, Kaoru held in her arms tightly. "If Hikaru ever saw someone doing that, the moment they put their food down, she'd take it and flush it." she giggled. She then blinked, and blushed. "Gomen nasai... I've been talking so much about Hikaru for a while... I can't get her out of my mind..."

"It's alright," Tenpei said. "I don't mind."

Hikari sighed, looking down at the ground.

"It's like I idolize her like she's a megami... even though she's dead..."

"I think that Hikari is forgetting something very important,"

"Nani?" Hikari asked, looking over at Tenpei.

"You're forgetting that by remembering someone, you keep their memory alive. If you remember them, they won't be alone." Tenpei said with a smile. "I used to have a turtle once,"

"A turtle? How cute," Hikari said.

"Yeah, and his name was Fluffy." Tenpei said. He then chuckled nervously with a sweat-drop. "I was six when I named him..."

"I used to have names for all of my fingers and toes," Hikari said. "I was four..."

"Aha, well," Tenpei said, rubbing the back of his head. "Fluffy was the best friend I ever had, cuz I was always home schooled over the Internet. When I was eight and a half, Fluffy died..."

"Aw..." Hikari said, her eyes shining. "Poor Fluffy..."

"But, I had to let him go," Tenpei said with a sigh, staring up at the sky. "He was really sick, and Okaa-sama said that if he got sicker, he'd be in much more pain than he needed... so, I brought him to the vet, and he was put down..." He looked over at Hikari, whom was sniffling. "But I was happy for him. Even though I felt lonely, I was glad that Fluffy was out of his pain. And when I picked up his ashes a few days later, that's when I met Lua and Luka."

"You did?" Hikari asked.

"Hai. They'd had to put down their old dog, Biscuits, and they were picking up his ashes, too." Tenpei said. "We ended up talking for a while, and when I had said I was just going to keep Fluffy's ashes with me in my room, they convinced me to find a place where I could bury him. They ended up burying Biscuits' ashes in the park, where they used to play with him. So then, I brought Fluffy's ashes to the lake, and buried him near the woods. And now, every time I can, I go and visit him. I marked his place with pretty shells, and rocks cracked in two with shiny insides. I always tell him about the dueling Pro Leagues, about Okaa-sama and Otou-sama, about Lua and Luka, what I'm learning, how my deck is... it's like he's still alive."

"Still alive?" Hikari asked.

"Hai... he was the best friend I ever had, and when I keep on remembering him, he still is. It makes me sad sometimes, but it's better to remember someone you lost than to just forget them for good, because even if its an animal, it doesn't matter, because every living thing changes you; for better, or for worse."

"You're right,"

"Huh?" Tenpei blushed when he found himself being pulled into Hikari's embrace. He kept on blinking, her head on his shoulder, but he hugged her back.

"Tenpei-kun is right," Hikari said. "Remembering is better than forgettingsu..."

"R-right..."

"You don't mind, do you?" Hikari asked, pulling back to look into his eyes.

"Mind what?" Tenpei asked.

"If I call you 'kun'?" Hikari asked.

"No, not at all!! It'd be an honor, actually..." he responded. He then fumbled a bit to take off his backpack. "And, uh, Hikari-chan?"

"Hai?"

"There's something I won for you," Tenpei said, zipping open his bag.

"Nani?" Hikari asked, blinking.

"I, uh, wanted to get you something... to make up for being such a jerk when I saw your marks..." Tenpei said, staring down into his bag.

"Tenpei-kun, you didn't have to, really..."

"I really wanted to, though," Tenpei said. "So, when I saw this, I thought, um..."

Hikari gasped.

Tenpei smiled a bit uneasily, blushing lightly as he held a teddy bear in his hands. It was a bright, colorful bear with soft fur, dark purple eyes, a dark blue nose, and pink pads on its hands and feet. It had a necklace around its neck, as well. The necklace looked like a crystal filled with swirls of colored paint dried in place, shining like the most precious gem in the world.

"I-I actually got the bear as second place prize for the tournament," Tenpei said. "And the pendant, I won it for you, because I wanted you to always remember your first Festival Of Rainbows..."

Before he placed the bear into Hikari's arms, he removed the necklace, placing it over her head, letting it fall around her neck, dangling with her other crystal and her half-heart pendant.

"D-do... do you like them?" Tenpei asked.

"... I love themsu..." Hikari said, flinging her arms around Tenpei again, careful not to drop her new bear or Kaoru. "Ten-kun, arigatou na no da..."

Tenpei smiled, hugging her back just as tightly.

"This is one of the nicest things anyone has done for me..." Hikari said.

"You're one of the best friends I've ever had..." Tenpei responded.

"You're one of the only friends I have... and you're one of the best..." Hikari said.

When they pulled apart, they both smiled at one another. Then, unconsciously, Tenpei leaned towards her. Hikari leaned in a bit shyly, but Tenpei was the one who gently placed his lips onto hers. A few seconds later, Tenpei pulled back, blushing dark red.

"Gomen nasai... I don't know what..." Tenpei trailed off of his words. He leaned in a bit closer again, and his lips met the soft, pale lips of Fudo Hikari.

The kiss was calm and gentle. Both of them kept on blushing brightly, but unable to unlock their semi-opened eyes. When they both pulled apart, Tenpei laid a hand on Hikari's cheek.

"Hikari... you're so beautiful..." He laid out each word gently, like pearls on a string.

"Iie..." Hikari said quietly, shaking her head and looking down. "Not beautiful..." she said, blushing brightly. She gasped lightly when Tenpei's other hand grasped her chin, gently pulling her head back up.

"Then why am I staring at the most beautiful girl in the world right now?..." Tenpei asked, his eyes glowing.

"T-Te... Ten-kun..." Hikari whispered with a little smile.

A gasp of pain broke through the air, sending feelings of dismay all around them.

* * *


	18. Kidnapped

_**"Put the brace on - put it - put it on - GOD DAMN IT KARU, QUIT WIGGLING AROUND!!!"**_

_**"Itai, itaaaaai!!"**_

"What is it now?" Saiga groaned, rubbing the top of his head.

"Onee-chan says her arm hurts!!" Rally said.

"Karu, if you could stay still for one damn minute-"

**_"SHUT UP, SETSUNA!!! I AM IN PAAAAAAAAAIN!!! AND THIS IS WORSE THAN CRAMPIES!!!"_**

**_"WHY IS IT ALWAYS ME THAT GETS YELLED AT?!?!"_** Genji shouted.

**_"It hurts much worse than that other time!!"_** Hikaru whined as Genji kept on trying to slip an arm brace onto her wrist.

"Nani?" Saiga asked. He blinked, looking over at Hikaru's wrist. It was bare, unlike Yusei's when it hurt.

**_"Kami, it hurts!!"_** Hikaru shouted when Genji finally got the brace onto her wrist, closing the velcro straps around it.

"Okay, calm down, Karu... it should feel better soon..." Genji said, panting.

"If only I had brought my medical book with me..." Blitz said.

Rally: _**In the green of early autumn,  
At the foot of a tree...  
Violets are scattered, and pansies bloom...  
Purple-petaled, and blue...**_

_**In the green of early autumn,  
At the foot of a tree...  
Violets are scattered, and pansies bloom...  
Purple-petaled, and blue...**_

_So then, Yusei is..._ Saiga blinked, only able to stare at Hikaru as her face twisted in pain, Genji massaging her arm through its brace. _Is it the Witch again?_

**Yusei: "Kidnapped."**

_**"Ten-chan!!"**_

_**"Ten-chaaaaaaaan!!"**_

"Ten-chan, what happened?!" Lua asked, kneeling down beside the brunette.

_"I-itai... itai..."_ Tenpei said, his eyes tearing. He grasped his shoulder desperately, crimson fluid leaking through his white shirt.

"What happened?!" Luka asked.

_"S-so-someone with a gun took Hikari..."_ Tenpei said, his face scrunched in pain. _"He just ran off..."_

"Hikari..." Yusei gasped. He saw not only Kaoru left behind on the ground, but her half of a heart pendant, the pendant she had won at Ring Toss, and the bear Tenpei had given her. Grasping his right arm tightly, he growled as he glared into the black. "Jack..." he growled before running off.

"Yusei!! Where are you going?! What do we do?!" Luka asked.

"Call the paramedics!! I have to make sure Hikari's okay!! I can't let Hikaru down!!" Yusei called back.

"Looking for this?"

Yusei stopped, skidding a little, looking around.

_**"Nii-san!! Help!! Onegai!!"**_

Yusei's eyes widened. He saw a struggling Hikari with her hands tied behind her back held on Jack's shoulder. And what more, her skirt was spread out, revealing her underwear - Jack had obviously done that to push Yusei's buttons.

_**"Put her down, Jack!!"**_ Yusei barked. If it weren't for his gloves and sleeve, then his nails would be digging into the flesh of his arm.

"Sorry, but I can't do that," Jack responded, calmly situating himself on the seat of his D-Wheel, seating Hikari onto his lap down, whom kept on shaking.

**_"Give her back!! She's my little sister!!"_** Yusei said, running towards them, down an alley.

**_"Stay back!!"_**

Hikari screamed when a silver gun was held to her head, whimpering, her eyes shut tight. She bit her bottom lip.

"I have a job to do, and I'm going to finish it." Jack said, revving the engine of his D-Wheel.

_**"Don't you dare hurt her!!"**_ Yusei shouted.

"I'll leave that up to Godwin," Jack said, chuckling at Yusei's flaming glare. "See you at the Fortune Cup, pal." he said venomously.

_**"Nii-san!! Niiiiiiii-saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!!"**_ Hikari called helplessly, unable to do a thing when Jack sped off.

_"Hikari..."_ Yusei uttered. _**"HIKARIIIIIIII!!! I SWEAR TO YOU, I'LL GET YOU BACK!!! I PROMISE!!!"**_ he shouted. _**"I PROMISE!!!"**_

"Yusei, the paramedics are on their way," Himuro said, approaching the black-haired teen. "But we need to get Tenpei to the entrance.... Yusei, daijobu?"

"... Hai... I'll be fine..." Yusei responded, turning, walking back towards the others.

_"It feels like I'm dying..."_ Tenpei whispered, shaking, tears in the corners of his closed eyes.

"You'll be alright, Tenpei," Yusei said, taking off his jacket. He wrapped it around the brunette, trying to be careful of his wound, before he lifted him up into his arms.

Lua opened his mouth to comment on Yusei's glowing birthmark again, but it disappeared before he could vocalize anything. Luka leaned down, picking up Hikari's dropped belongings; Kaoru, her rainbow bear from Tenpei, and her two necklaces.

"Gomen nasai, Yusei..." Tenpei said, looking at the elder through his barely open eyes as Yusei began to lead them back towards the entrance.

Lua held out his hands in front of him, catching Hikari's blue hair ribbons, which came from almost nowhere.

"For what?" Yusei asked.

_"I couldn't keep her away from Jack..."_ Tenpei said. _"All I could do was take the bullet for her... I didn't want any of us to lose her..."_

"Tenpei..." Yusei said, blinking. "You did that for her?"

_"H-h-hai..."_ Tenpei responded. _"I know you love her... losing her forever would... be too painful..."_

_"Ssssssh... sssh, sssh, sssh, sssh..."_ Yusei hushed, letting Tenpei's head tuck underneath his chin. "You should rest, now... don't stress yourself..."

_"... Yusei... **I love her...**"_ Tenpei said in a whisper before he slipped into unconsciousness.

* * *

"Onee-chan, daijobu?" Rally asked.

Hikaru breathed our roughly, finding she was able to calm herself down finally.

_"The pain... it's disappeared again..."_ she whispered tiredly. _"I don't know why... I don't... understand..."_ Her words trailed off as she began to snore lightly, having been too tired from it all to remain conscious.

"Oh, thank Kami she's okay..." Genji sighed. "I was getting really worried..."

"This is strange..." Blitz said. "What could have caused a random arm ache such as that one? None the less, something so painful it doesn't have a source?"

"Isn't that the same thing that happens with Nerve and his heart condition, though?" Rally asked.

"Nerve's case is different," Blitz responded. "His heart didn't develop properly when he was in our mother, so that's why he's in constant pain; he could never get a good treatment for it other than the medicine he had..."

"Maybe if he have to bring Nerve to the hospital for his medicine, we should bring Nee-chan for her arm..." Rally said.

"I am going to drag her kicking and screaming to the hospital if I have to," Genji said. "I don't want her to end up in much more pain than she should be in..."

_Twins... they really are fascinating..._ Saiga thought. _I wonder what Yusei will think of this._

"Poor Onee-chan..." Rally said.

"She should be okay for now, just like last time, Rally, don't worry," Genji said. "Let's go back to sleep..." he said before he froze.

"Huh?" Rally asked.

"... Call me crazy, but something doesn't feel right..." Genji said, staring at nothing in particular. He blinked, blowing his hair from his face a bit. He then turned his head, looking towards the glowing with lights city of Neo-Domino. "Yusei... Hikari... estar seguro, por forvor... por forvor... hermano... hermanita..."

* * *

"None of this would have happened if I hadn't said we should go to the bathroom..." Luka said.

"I think it's better he got held up with an empty bladder..." Lua said. "Look on the bright side, he didn't wet himself."

"Lua, it's too soon for jokes." Luka said before giving a sigh. "We know Ten-chan will heal soon and be back up and well, but... Kami knows what's happening to Hikari."

"I guess you're right..." Lua said. He then looked up at Yusei, whom walked ahead of them all, holding Hikari's things in his arms. "Daijobu, Yusei?"

"Hai..." the elder responded.

"... Will you be okay?" Luka asked.

"Hai..." He remained silent when he unlocked the door to his apartment, walking in. "I'll see you tomorrow, I guess..." he said before closing the door.

"I guess we'd better go home, Luka..." Lua said.

"Oyasumi, Yusei-kun." Luka called through the door. "If we don't see you in the next few days, we'll see you at the Fortune Cup."

"Oyasumi!" Lua called, following after Luka.

"Oyasumi, yonug'uns!" Yanagi called.

"See ya," Himuro said.

"Oyasumi, Jii-chan, Himuro!!" Lua called.

The twins, the old man and the ex-Pro Duelist didn't notice Yusei's eyes peeking out of the blinds.

_Hikari..._

* * *

"Jack... you've got the girl?"

Hikari's unconscious body was carelessly thrown down onto the carpet.

"I did your dirty work," Jack responded. "Only for the Fortune Cup, mind you." He snorted. "What the hell do you need her for? She's just a useless, clingy crybaby of a girl. She doesn't even act her age! Makes me wonder if Yusei even likes her, let alone can he even tolerate her?"

Godwin leaned down, and almost carefully picked up the little girl.

"Odd to see hair of such a color on a child," he said, one of his fingers touching her bangs. "If she wasn't so childish, you'd think she were an elderly, shrunken lady."

Jack rolled his eyes, grunting.

_I hate being ignored..._

_"Sissy-cha..."_ Hikari whispered in her sleep.

"Kind of cute, isn't she?" Godwin asked. "She's the perfect bait... Yusei won't be able to resist helping the pain-filled cries of his baby sister..."

"_'Pain-filled cries'?_" Jack questioned.

Godwin smirked, chuckling.

"His birthmark will show by pushing him to his limits," Godwin began. "What better a way to push him than by using his heart?"

_"Nii-san..."_

* * *


	19. A Teddy Without Hugging Arms

"Onegai... please just bring me back to Nii-san..." Hikari whimpered helplessly, her hands limp, tied behind her back with strong rope.

"It's his own fault for not watching you," Jack said, using a toothpick to clean the underside of his fingernails. "Or is it you who should have been more careful?"

"You had Tenpei-kun get hurt just to get me," Hikari said, her head hung low. "Why?... What's so important about me?..."

"From observing Yusei's behavior, we concluded that if he's going to work his hardest during the Fortune Cup, it'll be if he's driven to save you." Godwin said, staring out the window.

"Hikari doesn't understand..." the little girl said in a confused tone. "Nii-san already told me that you were threatening to hurt friends of his... why do I have to be tied into this?"

"Because," Godwin began, twirling the wine in his glass. "Yusei will strive to work harder for his sister. We observed you for a short time..."

"Hikari still doesn't understand..."

"We're not going to spell it out for you," Jack sneered, placing his glass of lemonade with ice onto the coffee table.

"But when can I be with Nii-san again?" Hikari asked.

"If you don't shut up soon, I'll make you." Jack said, wiping the remnants of condensation from his glass from his hand onto a napkin.

"Gomen nasai, Jack-sama..." Hikari said softly, her head hung again.

_"For the love of... **MIKAGE!!!**"_

"Hai, Atlas-sama?!" the bluenette woman asked, nearly rushing in.

_**"SHUT HER UP!!!" **_Jack shouted like a little kid, pointing at Hikari.

"Hai, Atlas-sama!!... How would I do that?..." Mikage asked.

Mikage flinched when Jack practically shoved a white scarf-like cloth into her face.

"Gag her,"

"U-uh," Mikage began, grasping the cloth with a hand. "Hai, Atlas-sama..."

_**"- Ack!! Waaaah, I can't breathe!!"**_

"Stop that, you imbecile!!" Jack snapped.

Mikage blinked, taking the cloth off of Hikari's neck.

"If I wanted a headache, I would have asked for an aluminum baseball bat!!" Jack said. "You're supposed to shove it in her mouth and tie it in the back of her head!!"

"... Can't that count as child abuse?" Mikage asked.

_**"WE'RE NOT BABYSITTING, BAKA!!! AND WHAT YOU JUST TRIED TO DO ONLY MADE MATTERS WORSE!!!"**_

"Mikage, you run along and go back to cleaning the kitchen," Godwin said, taking the cloth. "We'll take care of things in here."

"What ever the hell he said," Jack said, flopping down on the couch, crossing his legs as he stared at the ceiling.

"Hai, Atlas-sama..." Mikage said, bowing quickly before she turned and left.

Hikari remained silent, her head hung, hair in her face as the cloth was tied around her head, blocking her mouth completely.

"Well, she certainly does behave nicely," Godwin praised, petting the top of her head like she was an animal. "It's almost cute."

_"Dirty old man..."_ Jack mumbled.

**Yusei: "A Teddy Without Hugging Arms."**

_Knock knock knock._

"Who is it?"

_**"Yusei, it's Saiga!"**_

Yusei sprung bolt upright, Kaoru held in his arms.

"Nani?"

**_"We're here a day earlier than we thought," _**Saiga's voice called. _**"Is the door unlocked?"**_

"... H-hai."

The door flew open and in ran Rally, whom almost instinctively knew where Yusei was and ran towards him.

_**"Yusei-Nii-saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!!"**_ Rally cheered, tackling him down onto the bed. _**"Rally missed you!!"**_

_**"- Oof!!"**_ Yusei exclaimed as his head missed the headboard by centimeters.

"It's so dark in here, Yusei," Blitz said as he walked in, carrying Nerve in his arms.

"Light switch," Saiga said, flicking the lights on.

"Whoa, you've got two D-Wheels now?!" Taka asked.

"Er, actually..." Yusei began, being cuddled into the mattress by Rally. "The silver one Hikari won at a raffle yesterday."

_**"Hikariiiiiiii!!" **_Hikaru called, running in. _**"Lil' Light, I wanna hug something cuuuuuuuute!!"**_

Yusei blinked, turning his head away.

"... Lil' Light?" Hikaru asked, looking around. "Nani?... She's usually awake by now."

"Yusei," Genji began. Yusei picked up his head, and the elder gave him a smile. "'Suppose you know by now I'm Genji. I've got to ask..." He turned, walking up the steps to the bed, and stared down at Yusei. "Have you been taking care of our baby sister the way you should?"

"Hai..." Yusei responded with a nod as Rally let him go.

_"Twinny-chaaaaaan~" _Hikaru sung, immediately yanking Yusei up into a hug after she approached him. "Hikaru can't believe how beautiful her baby brother is... _y él es todo mío!!~_" she cooed.

"Daijobu, Yusei? You seem a little far off..." Blitz said.

"I'm fine," Yusei responded.

"Nani?" Genji picked up his sister's teddy bear. "Kaoru isn't with Hikari?" he asked.

"Blitz," Yusei began, pulling away from Hikaru's arms and walking toward the bluenette. "What's happened to Nerve?"

"It's his heart," Blitz responded, looking down at the brunette's sweating face. "He ran out of medicine."

"Here, lie him down on the bed, then." Yusei said, turning back around.

"Hai," Blitz responded, following him up the steps.

"Yusei..." Hikaru began, her eyes shining. "I know there's something going on... I can tell; what's wrong?" she asked as Blitz laid his brother down onto the bed.

Yusei sighed, turning his head down and away.

"It's about Hikari..." he answered.

"Hikari?..." Hikaru asked. "Nani?... What happened to her?!" she asked, frantic.

"... There's no easy way to say this, but also," Yusei began, walking back down. "There is no other way to say this. All I can say is..." He fisted his hand. "Hikari... has been kidnapped..."

**_"KIDNAPPED?!?!" _**Genji screeched. **_"WHAT THE FUCK?!?! I WANT TO KNOW HOW THIS HAPPENED, AND I WANNA KNOW RIGHT THE FUCK NOW, YUSEI!!!"_**

"Yesterday... at the festival," Yusei began. "We were just getting ready to leave. Her and her three friends decided to use the bathroom before we left, since it would be a long walk back. When her and Tenpei were waiting for Lua and Luka to come out, they were approached by a man with a gun."

_"You... **you were supposed to be watching her!!**" _Genji snapped.

"Atlas Jack kidnapped her," Yusei continued, unfazed by his half-brother's anger. "He was on his D-Wheel, and he's Atlas Jack, so from the start, even if I was there with them, I wouldn't have been able to get her back... he shot Tenpei, so why wouldn't he have shot Hikari?... I couldn't risk her being killed..."

_"Baka... **YOU BAKA!!!**" _Genji shouted. "Don't you know what you're supposed to do with an active marker like yours?! Lay low!! They probably knew she was always with you, so they took the hint that you and her were together at the festival!! Decommissioned marks are useless; all a blank marker really is, is just a tattoo!! They used you to find her and take her because you were too careless!!" He glared poisonously at Yusei, his body shaking with rage. "And you call yourself a brother!! You're doing a shitty job so far!!"

"Setsuna, calm down!!" Hikaru said, grasping the green-haired by by his arms before he could lunge out in anger towards their younger brother. "Genji... things like this can happen... Yusei is a kind boy, and I know that he wasn't lying when he said he was taking care of Hikari all that he could..."

"No... no, no, no, Hikaru..." Genji began. "You have no idea what I went through to just find you... and we nearly got caught getting here!! I've slept without cover in the rain, I've cried and screamed in the rain, I've been hit on by women, I've been hit on by men, I've been hit on by a hermaphrodite and it's mother!! Was it all worth finding you? Of course it was!! But now that one of the most precious things in my life isn't even here when I was told she would be... I'm a little more than peeved!!"

"Would you have been so angry if Hikari had been taken away when I was watching over her rather that Yusei?" Hikaru asked, turning him around and holding him in place with her hands on his shoulders. "All you need is someone to blame for it, and because you're so pissed, you should only be angry with yourself!! If Yusei is anything like us, then he isn't lying!! He was honest enough to tell us what happened without hesitations... he feels guilty."

Genji's brow twitched, and he blinked.

"Now, go outside and get some fresh air," Hikaru began, pushing him in the direction of the door. "Besides, if you get too angry, then up will boost your blood pressure levels!!"

"Like being outside will calm me down..." Genji mumbled.

"Take a nice walk and then come back, okay?" Hikaru asked as he walked out the door.

"Fine..."

After a moment, Blitz scoffed.

"And you're the younger sister, Karu?" he asked.

"Sometimes I wonder myself," Hikaru said, holding her head in one of her hands, her other hand on her hip. "But then I remember we have no birth certificates to check for ourselves, and his birthday is before mine." She then put her hand from her face down and turned to look at Yusei. She saw that it looked like he was busying himself with his D-Wheel, but of course, she could see past it; she knew he was really just trying to shut away, thinking it had really all been his fault like Genji had shouted. "Listen, Genji's just a little tense... he sees things a little differently,"

"It's fine; talk like that doesn't really get to me." Yusei responded.

"I know when you're _lyiiiiiiiing..._" Hikaru sung, poking her head in front of his, upside-down. "Hermano, talky-talky to Hika-Twinny!!"

"I should really be getting ready for the Fortune Cup-"

"Ever hear of _'all work, no play'?_" Hikaru asked, poking Yusei in the nose.

"Yeah..." he responded.

"Otouto, you gotta live a little!!" Hikaru said, standing up and twirling a few times. "You can take a walk for no reason, gaze up at the clouds, bother your brother; the list is endless!!"

"What was that last one?" Yusei asked.

"Gaze up at the clouds," Hikaru responded. "And did I mention bother your brother?"

**"Say _what?_"**

_**"Huggie-wuggie tiiiiiiiiiiiime!!" **_Hikaru sung out, nearly flinging herself onto Yusei. Yusei missed hitting his D-Wheel by inches and thanked Kami above he didn't hit it.

"- **_Jesus!! _**Hikaru, what the heck are you-"

"I, dear brother, am making up for lost time!!" Hikaru responded. "I won't let you go until I get a smile!!"

_"You're crushing me..." _Yusei said.

"Oh my, Yusei-kun?"

Yusei struggled to pick his head up and look over Hikaru's shoulder. His neck strained as he caught sight of Lua and Luka in the doorway.

"We came by to ask you how you were doing..." Luka began, walking down the steps with a bouquet of flowers in her hands, Lua trailing behind her. "You seemed awfully down yesterday..."

"And, we were going to ask you if you wanted to come to the hospital with us to visit Ten-chan..." Lua began. "But is this a bad time?"

"Besides the fact that my ribs are puncturing my own lung, this time is perfect!!" Yusei struggled to say.

"Huh..." Luka took out a photo from her pocket. It was from the festival; her, Lua, Tenpei, Hikari and Yusei were all standing under a rainbow arch with a picture of a beach behind them. Her eyes studied Hikari before looking up at Hikaru. "Who are you? You look a lot like Hikari-chan..."

"Watashi wa Hikaru, Fudo Hikaru!!"

"That definitely rings a bell..." Lua said, scratching the top of his head.

"Think way back to when Hikari was yelling at Tenpei..." Yusei said. "She mentioned a girl."

"Holy schniekies..." Luka gasped.

"What, what, what?!" Lua asked.

"Oblivious, as usual..." Luka said. "Lua, that's their sister!! But she said she was dead!!"

"Nah, I survived." Hikaru responded.

"You survived a bullet?" Lua asked.

"I wudden't shot!! Hikari was, yeah, but not me..." Hikaru responded. "I did see blood before I blacked out, so, that was hers... but anyways, let's have a proper greeting!!"

**_"- I'm free!!" _**Yusei exclaimed before he impacted onto the floor.

"I'm Hikaru, the ever-so-lovable big sissy." Hikaru said. "And you would be?"

"I'm Lua,"

"And I'm Luka."

"We're twins."

"I had a feeling..." Hikaru responded.

"Luka, this is so awesome!! Yusei has a twin sister just like me!!" Lua said. "He is _so_ **cool!!**"

_**"Hiyooooooo!!"**_ Rally greeted. "I'm Rally; Dawson Rally!!"

"Hi, Rally!! I'm Lua!!"

"Yusei, who are all of these people?" Luka asked.

"My friends from the Satellite," Yusei responded, sitting on the floor rubbing his neck. "Saiga was nice enough to bring them back for me."

"It wasn't easy, but I pulled off the job, like I always do." Saiga said.

"Which reminds me... is there a doctor somewhere who will take Nerve as a patient?" Blitz asked.

"I know the hospital Ten-chan's at doesn't discriminate!" Lua said.

"Does it look like they have markers, Lua?!" Luka asked.

_"I hate markers..." _Rally said, raspberrying his tongue.

"Cut them a bit of slack, things are different here in Neo from the island." Yusei said as he shakily stood up.

"I know, Nii-san..." Rally responded.

"Wait, you're his brother, too?" Lua asked.

"No, I just call Yusei 'Nii-san' because he's super nice to me and he's been like a big brother to me ever since we met!!" Rally responded. "Unlike some other person..." he said, glaring at Blitz.

"You blamed a lizard for lighting the theater on fire, for Christ's sake!!" Blitz said.

"So are you just planning to drop in on Tenpei, or have you heard from him?" Yusei asked.

"Oh, he called us about twenty minutes ago." Lua responded. "He said that the doctors gave him permission to have visitors."

"He's okay, though. That bullet sure didn't kill him..." Luka added. "As soon as he's mostly healed, I'm sure he'll be let out soon."

"I'd still like to know what he was thinking last night before it all happened," Lua said, his arms folded behind his head. "Taking a bullet like that for someone he still doesn't know a lot about..."

"Nani?" Hikaru blinked.

* * *

"So Jack, the Fortune Cup is tomorrow,"

"Tell me something I don't know..." the blonde mumbled, flipping through a magazine. He then scoffed when he got to the back page. "That is absurd!! This dueling magazine doesn't have my picture in it!! _**Mikage!!**_"

The bluenette woman blinked as the rolled-up magazine was thrust to her chest.

"Call the company and tell them I am _**not**_ happy with this!!" Jack said.

"Yes sir, Atlas-sama! I'll be sure to get it done!" she responded. She placed it down onto the coffee table and then picked up a fork with part of a chicken nugget on it.

"Don't _'I'll be sure to get it done' _me, Mikage!! **Do it!!** **_Do it now!!_**" Jack said.

"But the child, sir," Mikage began. "She can't feed herself."

"If you won't listen to me and you want to do something else, multi-task!!" Jack said, flopping back down onto his back on the couch. "And if that's impossible, then you should do what I told you to do!! _**Doy!! **_That's what an assistant does, Mikage!!"

"It's okay, Miss Mikage, you do have a job you must follow for Jack-sama..." Hikari said. "I'm not starving, either... it's okay."

"... Hai," Mikage responded, smiling uneasily. She stood back up, picking up the magazine.

"... You're practically a hostage, and you're being nice?" Jack questioned.

"Gomen nasai, Jack-sama... it's just my nature..." Hikari responded.

Jack smacked his forehead.

_**KAMI,** it's no **FUCKING WONDER **how Yusei likes her!!_

* * *

"Ohayou, Ten-chan!!"

The brunette's eyes slipped open and his head turned.

"Ohayou, Lua, Luka." he responded, his voice raspy.

"Ohayou, Tenpei." Yusei said, walking in.

"Ohayou, Yusei-kun."

"You look like crap, Ten-chan." Lua said.

"Lua!! That isn't a nice thing to say!!" Luka scolded.

"Try to keep it down, guys... I have a splitting headache..." Tenpei said, easing himself up into a sitting position against his pillows.

"Have you heard from your parents yet, Ten-chan?" Luka asked.

"Hai... Okaa-sama called this morning and asked how I was..." Tenpei responded. "Her and Otou-sama should be back from their business trip by next week, but I should be out of here in a few days, if I heal quick enough."

"That's good," Lua said.

"Here, we brought you these." Luka said, holding out the bouquet. "We picked them from the garden this morning."

"Arigatou, Lua-chan, Luka-chan." Tenpei said. "I'll ask a nurse if she can bring in a vase for them later. Oh, and before I forget," Carefully, Tenpei reached to a chair on the other side of his bed and picked up a blue jacket. "Yusei, here..." he said, holding out the jacket. "The nurses washed this for you over night..."

"Arigatou, Tenpei." Yusei said, taking it into his hands.

**_"Yusei,"_** Blitz's voice came from the hallway. _**"Could I talk to you for a second?"**_

"Hai," Yusei responded with a nod. "I'll be right back, Tenpei." he said. "Lua, Luka." he said with a turn of his head and a nod.

"What's the matter, Blitz?" Yusei asked after he closed the door behind him.

"... The doctors just gave Nerve a full-body MRI," Blitz began, staring down at the floor. "His heart's gotten so bad me hay never recover... but if he has this surgery done, they say he might get better..."

"It's the cost, isn't it? You can't pay it?" Yusei asked. "Look, if you need me to loan you some money-"

"The cost doesn't matter to me, I've saved up all of the spare money I could so that if something ever came up, then..." Blitz trailed off of his sentence and he picked his head up. "It's a hard decision for me to make, because they warned me that there's a fifty percent chance he may die on the operating table..."

"Why don't you ask Nerve what he wants to do? It is his heart, after all,"

"Nerve hasn't woken up since yesterday..." Blitz responded. "He's been in too much pain to even eat. Also... I am his legal guardian. He's still seventeen, so he's a minor..."

"Blitz, you have to take the chance," Yusei said.

"Nani?"

"Listen..." Yusei began. "I know I've only been a brother for about a week, but already it feels like my entire life had Hikari included, there the entire time..." He then locked his eyes with the bluenette's. "Take the chance; if he doesn't make it, well then... he'll be out of pain... and he'll have had a happy life with a good nii-san like you."

"... Nerve would probably think that same thing," Blitz said with a smile.

"You should probably be by his side when he wakes up," Yusei said. "Little ones always need their big brother or sister."

"Alright," Blitz nodded. "I'll go back to him."

"Blitz?" Yusei asked when the bluenette turned around.

"Yeah?"

"About Nerve..." Yusei began. "Why did you come to me and ask?"

"I can trust you, and what you think." Blitz responded. "And you know what else?"

"What?"

Blitz smiled.

"I almost feel proud of how good a brother you are..."

Yusei only stared after Blitz as he headed back down the hallway, turning left into another room; Nerve's room.

**_"Yusei!!"_**

Yusei smiled, giving a wave as Hikaru, Genji and Rally approached him.

"Look, um, are we cool, Yuse?" Genji asked, rubbing the back of his head.

"Hai... I know, you snapped..." Yusei responded. "It happens to the best of us sometimes."

"Look, we're brothers," Genji began, holding out a hand. "We shouldn't fight to start with."

"Right," Yusei said, clasping his hand together with Genji's. "Fresh start, Setsuna-chan."

_**"... Must... keep voice down... for sake... of hospital..." **_Genji growled through gritted teeth.

"Hikaru, you're right. It is fun to bother your brother." Yusei said with a smile.

_"Rubbing off on him already, I see?..." _Genji asked.

"Aw, Gen-Genj," Hikaru cooed, wrapping her arms around his neck and cuddling into his shoulder. "No more poutsies!!"

_"I'll stop pouting once you stop snuggling my shoulder blade..."_

"Come on, come on, now!!" Hikaru began, letting him go. "There's an injured little boy in there who needs cheering up!! And I'm gonna sing to him!!"

"Think he'll want to be my friend?" Rally asked.

"Only way to find out is to go in there and let fate play it's part," Hikaru said, adjusting the strap of her guitar case on her back. "We'll go in after Yusei in a bit,"

"'Kay!" Rally responded.

* * *


	20. Rainbow Bear

"So your friends are here now, Yusei-kun?" Tenpei asked.

"Hai. Saiga was able to bring them here from the Satellite," Yusei responded. From his jeans pocket, he pulled out the photograph he was given by "the purple-haired freak". "This is them," he said, holding out his photo. "That's Taka, and Blitz and Nerve - they're brothers - and that's Rally."

"Rally's the kid?" Tenpei asked. "He doesn't look much older than us,"

"He's going on thirteen," Yusei said. "And Rally, well, Rally's been a close friend of mine ever since we were in the orphanage together. Funny thing is, Genji came across them when he was looking for Hikaru and Hikari. He came here, too."

"Wow... but," Tenpei began, looking up. "Won't they get into trouble?"

"Psh, if I stole back my D-Wheel from the Security building, keeping them safe will be a walk in the park." Yusei said, sounding confident. "And, here," he said, pulling out Hikari's photograph. "Look, that's Genji."

"Wow, really?" Tenpei asked, taking the photo into his left hand. "He doesn't look like he's your age, he looks older..."

"He is a few months older thank Hikaru and me," Yusei said. "He is a little more mature."

"... And no offense to you or anything, but even for your twin, Hikaru looks more like Hikari to me..." Tenpei said, his eyes still locked onto the photograph.

"Well, I'm guessing Hikaru and I were fraternal, saying as we're not identical." Yusei said. "And plus, they took after our momma more than our papa."

"... That's what Hikari-chan looked like before the accident?" Tenpei asked.

"Yeah," Yusei responded. "But accident or no accident, I still think she's cute."

"Yeah," Tenpei said with a nod. "I think so, too."

**_"Then you are Hikaru-approved!!"_**

**_"WHOA!!!"_** Tenpei exclaimed, scrambling back onto his pillows further.

"Aw, I'm sorry, little dude! I didn't mean to scare ya!" Hikaru bowed.

**_"H-haaaaaah?!"_** Tenpei asked, his left hand gripping his pillow tightly. His right arm remained motionless.

"Oh yeah, did I not mention she's alive?" Yusei asked.

_**"Ten-chan and Kari-chan, sittin' in a tree... C-A-S-S-I-N-T!!"**_ Lua sang.

_"Damn my injured shoulder..."_ Tenpei mumbled, his face bright red.

**Yusei: "Rainbow Bear."**

"_Oh, dear _**Kami**... for a minute there, I thought I was starting to see ghosts..." Tenpei said, panting for breath from his fright.

"I'm not _that_ pale, am I Ralls?" Hikaru asked, rolling up her jacket sleeve.

"No, I think you just scared the crap out of him." Rally responded.

"Did I scare the crap out of you?" Hikaru asked.

"A bit..." Tenpei responded. "I just hope the doctors won't kick you guys out for that scare..."

"They'll probably understand," Luka said. "I mean, friends are friends, you know."

"So Ten-chan, does your shoulder hurt?" Lua asked.

"That's a dumb question, even for you, Lua-chan..." Tenpei responded, sweat-dropping. "I was shot in the shoulder and my bone was lucky it didn't break. What do you think?"

"Can I poke it?"

**_"NO!!!"_**

* * *

"This child seems somewhat odd to me, Atlas-sama..." Mikage said.

"She is odd," Jack responded.

"Jack,"

Jack sat back up, looking at Godwin in the doorway. The man had his hands folded behind his back like normal, and was staring at Hikari, whose head hung, and breathing was soft, even behind the cloth over her mouth. Jack wondered how she could sleep like that.

"I've underestimated her importance," Godwin began.

"Nani?"

Godwin smirked.

"I have one last task for you..."

"This better be good," Jack scowled.

"Mikage," Godwin said, looking at her. Understanding, the bluenette woman bowed before walking past Godwin and out the door. Once she was walking down the hall, Godwin shut the door. "Listen to me, Jack. There's something you need to do tonight..."

"I'm listening..." Jack mumbled carelessly.

* * *

"Here, I wanted to give this to you before I left."

Tenpei blinked, seeing the rainbow bear he had given Hikari the previous night. He looked up, seeing Hikaru smiling brightly at him.

"How come you want to?..."

"I heard how you got shot last night," Hikaru responded. "Did... did you really take the bullet in place of Hikari?"

Looking down, Tenpei nodded.

"Hai... because living without her... would have been too painful not only for me, but for everyone else, too..." he said.

"How do you feel about her?"

"Huh?" Tenpei picked up his head.

"Hikari; how do you feel about her?" Hikaru asked.

"... I know I've only known her a short time... but, only after I made her upset with me did I realize how I really felt..." Tenpei responded. "Truthfully, I love her... just being around her makes my heart pound, and when I was nervous yesterday for the dueling tournament, she took my hand and put it over her heart... it's kind of like it gave me strength."

All the while, Hikaru had been smiling at him.

"If at any time," she began, placing the bear down beside Tenpei on his bed. "You feel like you're running out of strength," she continued, picking up Tenpei's left hand. She didn't want to hurt his shoulder, so she only picked up his left hand. "Put your hands right here..."

The back of the brunette's neck became warm with - was it amazement? - as his hand was placed in the center of his chest; over his heart. Somehow, magically, he could feel his heart beating in every inch of his skin; on every limb, on every organ, the air surrounding him.

"I never imagined I'd see the day where I'd have to let Hikari go, but..." Hikaru began, letting go of Tenpei's hand and turning around, heading to the door. "She's found someone in her life she can call precious. Hayano Tenpei..." She stopped at the door, looking back over her shoulder. "As long as Hikari is living and breathing in this imperfect world, onegai, help her light us..."

Tenpei seemed to be unaware of Hikaru's disappearance. He could only focus on feeling, hearing, breathing his heart beat.

_**Doki... doki...**_

_**Baku... baku...**_

_**Waku... waku...**_

_**Biku... biku...**_

_**Kari... Kari...**_

_Hikari..._

* * *

Hikari mewled, stirring from sleep. The cloth still gagging her, her tired eyes tried to adjust to the dark as she was taken into arms - warm arms - from where she had been laid on the couch where Jack sat nearly the entire day. Her hands were tied in front of her so she could sleep a little more comfortably.

_"Mmmnh..."_ she moaned tiredly, her eyes closed again already.

Jack walked silently back to his bedroom, trying not to make a sound or try and wake the lightly sleeping girl.

Closing his bedroom door with the kick of a foot, Jack walked to his bed, laying down the little girl. As he slipped off her gag, her eyes slipped open again.

_"Jack... sama?"_ Hikari asked tiredly.

_This is going to be a long night..._ he thought.

* * *

"You heading back now, guys?" Blitz asked.

"Yeah... the Fortune Cup is tomorrow, so I've to at least try and sleep." Yusei said. "You sticking here for the night?"

"Yeah... Nerve goes in for surgery tomorrow morning," Blitz responded. "But I'll be sure to try and catch your duels, Yuse."

"I'll have you two in my thoughts," Yusei said. "Give my regards to Nerve if he wakes up..."

"I'll be sure to do that," Blitz said. "Oyasumi."

"Buenas noches," the three siblings said in unison.

"If we can, we'll stop by here in the morning." Yusei said.

"Don't worry about it too much; we should be okay."

"Take care," Taka said.

"Aw, big yawns, Rally," Hikaru said, picking up the red-haired boy who rubbed at his eyes, yawning tiredly. "Hikaru thinks it's past someone's beddie-bye time by now."

"You have got to stop spoiling him..." Taka sighed, shaking his head.

"Who else is gonna give him the extra special attention only Hikaru-chan can give?" Hikaru asked defiantly. "Nuh one else I know!!"

"Let's just head back..." Yusei said.

"Okay, Twinny-chan." Hikaru smiled at Blitz. "Buenas noches, and shama-shama!"

"Shama-shama," Blitz responded.

As they left, Blitz stared after Hikaru, rolling over his thoughts. Would she be there if something went wrong? Would he really have a chance in a relationship with her - this seemingly perfect, happy, beauteous girl he nearly tripped over his own feet and fell for? But most importantly... he wondered if Hikari ever came back - an if that seemed so big it was like a dream - would she change things between her and Hikaru?

_I don't want to lose her..._

Green eyes nearly burned with developing tears as he saw Rally's head rested on her shoulder, long, raven black hair flowing behind her like a cape.

_Will you stay?..._

* * *


	21. Sisters In Arms, Sisters In Pain

"Twinny-chan."

Yusei gave a nod.

Hikaru's face drooped.

"I guess you can't really sleep too well?"

"It's creepy how much you can really read about me..."

Hikaru sat beside Yusei, pulling him over into a hug; a hug much different from the first one she gave him barely twenty four hours ago. This time she was more gentle, almost nurturing. He almost felt like he was slowly unwinding like a ball of yarn across the floor; like a kitten was batting him around and he was spreading out without control. Like he was falling apart.

"Twinny-chan, how long are you going to do this to yourself?..." Hikaru asked, petting her brother's hair like he really was a kitten; gently, soft, caring, loving... "I know... we can't remember each other from before the accident, and it's like we're physically strangers to one another, but... we're as close as close can get... we started out snuggled in Momma's womb together, and eternally we'll always hold that bond... it's just one of those things that can't be undone."

Yusei slid his eyes back open and pulled away from the gentle arms.

"It can't be like this, not after everything I've done..." Yusei said, standing up and heading out the garage door.

"What are you talking about?" Hikaru asked, following after him.

"Look, I'm sure that if I get to duel Jack today, then we'll get Hikari back," Yusei began, standing in the middle of the dirt street. "But it's best for her if she never sees me again."

"_'Best for her'?_ Yusei, you don't still think this is all your fault, is it?" Hikaru asked.

"Hikari's changed because of me," Yusei said. "If you saw her with the new darker side she's hiding, you'd be able to tell... it would have gone away if I hadn't done anything the night after she blew up at Tenpei..."

"What are you talking about?" Hikaru asked, standing not too far behind her twin. "Hermano..."

Yusei fisted his hands, hanging his head.

"All I was trying to do was make her feel better..." Yusei continued. "But my mind was just as coherent as hers... and everything that happened, it isn't clear in my mind... it was too much like a dream, so we didn't do anything about it, we didn't stop it..."

"Hermano?... What... what happened?..." Hikaru asked.

"... If there is anyone to hate, it should be me..." Yusei said, beginning to shake. His voice seemed to weaken as his body was covered by the developing twilight.

"Hermano..."

Unable to stand it any longer, Yusei collapsed, nearly falling over completely. His body huddled in a tight ball, he fought emotions battling in his heart.

"What's wrong with me... what's wrong with me?!" He pulled at his hair, nearly ripping it out. "Every time... every time, I always mess things up!! I loved that little girl like no others, and I went and messed everything up!! If anything, I should have been the one shot by Jack, I should have been the one taken away, and I should have been the one to go through the pain and suffering she did, and just end up completely alone!! Because, when it comes right down to it... it's what I deserve!!"

He didn't fight when Hikaru pulled him up, embracing him once more, tightly.

"Yusei, listen to me..." Hikaru began. "There is no reason why you should do this to yourself... take a deep breath, okay?"

Nearly heaving his breaths, Yusei struggled to inhale and exhale. As if being a guide, Hikaru breathed through her nose, and out of her mouth. She was successful, because soon after Yusei managed to give a deep, uninterrupted breath. His eyes we closed.

"Listen you hear?" Hikaru asked. "If you need yourself a good cry, then... Onee-chan is here, okay?"

Unable to hold it all in anymore, Yusei let his head bury into her shoulder. As if he were a baby - which he had at one point been - he let cries from his throat. His entire body shook, he sniffled, her clung... it was like he thought even Hikaru would be abducted and taken away.

No.

**Not again.**

"It's okay... it's okay..." Hikaru said, patting his back, stroking his hair. "Otouto... it'll all be okay..."

Yusei truly felt like a baby in his current being. He felt weak, vulnerable...

But he didn't care.

**Yusei: "Sisters In Arms, Sisters In Pain."**

When Godwin opened the door, he blinked.

Jack was still in his pajamas - something he ever does when he gets up in the morning. Even if he wakes up fully rested at three am. And that only happened on nights when insomnia got the better of him.

It was barely even six am, and yet, Jack was sitting on the couch, fully awake, a mug of coffee in his hands. Judging from the small blotches of brown stained on Jack's shirt, Godwin came to the conclusion that the blonde had prepared the coffee himself, saying as Mikage's work day began at eight, sometimes nine.

"The deed you've requested is done,"

Godwin smirked, closing the door behind himself.

"Did everything happen according to plan?"

Jack sipped his coffee.

"Normally I'd care less, but..." He stared down at the hot, brown liquid. "I have this feeling it did something to her..."

"What do you care? You are the King, after all,"

Jack looked over his shoulder.

"Jack."

Jack blew air out of his nose, turned his head back, and drank again.

"Doesn't mean I can't feel," the blonde responded.

"Doesn't mean I care." the older man retorted.

_I hate being out-smarted..._ Jack scoffed in his thoughts.

"And you do realize that is black coffee, right?"

"I can't taste right now, so it doesn't matter to me."

_Oh_ **KAMI-SAMA**_ above, this tastes like_ **SHIT!!!**

* * *

"Poor kid... how long was he up for, Karu?" Genji asked.

"A while..." Hikaru responded. "I still can't believe some of the things he told me."

"Tck, and I thought he wasn't emotional." Genji said, pulling his hand away from Yusei's hair.

Currently, Hikaru was sitting on the couch, a slumbering Yusei in her lap. His head laid on her right shoulder, his arms loosely clinging to her torso. A tired expression was on his face, as were streaks of still-falling tears. He gave very light snores, sniffling and hiccuping every now and then.

"Onii-san..." Rally said. "Onee-chan, have you been singing to him?"

"Iie..." Hikaru said, shaking her head.

"How come?" Rally asked.

"... I just... _didn't_... I can't explain it..." Hikaru responded. Then, for a moment she felt her heartbeat in her head, and her eyes squinted. She lifted up a hand and rubbed her forehead. "That's weird, all of a sudden my head hurts..."

"Sissy-cha?..."

Snapping her head up, Hikaru gasped. Looking out the garage door, she couldn't see anyone.

"Hello?" Hikaru asked, standing up. "Hikari? Hikari!!" she called.

When soft footsteps were heard, Hikaru bent down and laid Yusei on the couch. Hikaru then headed toward the door. As she did, from the side, Hikari walked into sight. The little girl's head was down low, silver hair blocking her face.

"Lil' Light?"

Hikari picked up her head, showing the scar on her right cheek, the marks on her left.

"You're a... you're alive..." Hikari gasped.

"Hikari..." Hikaru uttered.

"Aka-chan Imoto..." Genji said.

When Hikari ran toward her sister, Hikaru knelt down. It wasn't even a second later when the smaller girl nearly toppled Hikaru over, clinging to her so tightly her and Yusei were now hug rivals.

"S-Sissy-cha, you're here... you're alive..."

"Lil' Light, you're okay..." Hikaru said. "We've been... we've been so worried..."

"How the hell..." Genji shook his head, and then rubbed his eyes. When he looked back up, he could still hardly believe his eyes. "How the hell did you get away from Atlas Jack?!"

"He just let'ed me gosu," Hikari responded.

"He just _let_ you go?" Genji asked.

"Who cares why," Hikaru said, standing up with the little girl in her arms. "Once Nervu-chan and Tenpei are out of the hospital, we'll all be one big happy family!!"

"Huh? Sissy-cha met Tenpei-kun?" Hikari asked.

"Uh-huh," Hikaru responded. "And he is Hikaru-approved!!"

"... Is he okay?" Hikari asked.

"Yes, he said he'd be out within a few days."

"... Sissy-cha?..."

"Yes?"

"... My head feels really bang-bang ow-ow..." Hikari said.

"_'Bang-bang ow-ow'?_" Genji asked.

"Yeah..." the little girl responded.

"That's funny, cuz just before we heard you, I got a headache." Hikaru said.

**_"Onee-chan!! Nii-san's arm!!"_**

"Huh?"

Almost immediately, Hikari jumped down from her sister's embrace. As soon as her feet hit the floor, she rushed over to her slumbering older brother. Before she could say a thing, though, she felt a throb in her head.

**_"Itai!!"_** she exclaimed, dropping to her knees and holding her head. _**"Bang-bang ow-oooooooowwwww!!"**_

Unconsciously, Yusei's hand gripped his right wrist. He hiccuped, sniffling as a pain-filled expression washed over his face. Hikari lifted her head up, squinting to see if Yusei's birthmark was glowing. It was.

"Karu..." Genji began. " You don't think?..."

Hikaru was already gripping her own wrist, squeeze-massaging it to try and make the pain go away.

"It happens to Yusei, too?..." Hikaru asked.

"Wait, what Jii-chan said..." Hikari began. "Nii-san is a... _Signer_, was it?..."

**_"- HOLY MOTHER OF FUCKING KAMI ABOOOOOOVE!!!"_** Hikaru shrieked, collapsing onto the floor.

_**"Hikaru!!"**_

_**"Sissy-cha!!"**_

_**"Onee-chan!!"**_

"What's going on?"

"Taka," Genji began, trying to calm a writhing in pain Hikaru down. "Hikaru's arm again!!"

"Yusei's, too!! Look at Yusei-Nii-san's arm!!" Rally said, pointing at the slumbering boy.

**_"Bang-bang ow-ow, really bang-bang ow-ow!!"_** Hikari exclaimed, holding her head.

_**"MAKE IT STOP, MAKE IT STOP, MAKE IT STOOOOOOOOOOOP!!!"**_ Hikaru cried, pained tears falling from her eyes. _**"ITAAAAAAAAAAI!!!"**_ she screeched.

Wincing, Yusei's eyes slipped open. With a hiccup, he sat up, blinking.

_"Nani?... Hikari?..."_

"Damn it, that tears it..." Genji began. "Taka, help me carry Hikaru!! We've got to get them to the hospital, stat!!"

Nodding, the brunette got up from his sleeping spot on the floor, and was by Hikaru's side in a second.

"What's... going on?..." was all Yusei could muster.

* * *

"Blitz!! Where's the doctor?!"

The bluenette remained unresponsive. He stood in front of the double doors, staring at the wall up above it. Two light bulbs were above it - an unlit green one on the left, and a lit red one on the right. The red light glared against the glasses of both Blitz and Tenpei. Blitz held in his hands Nerve's blue bandanna... his only bandanna.

"_'Nii-san, I'm going to feel so much better when I get out of this...'_" Blitz quoted. "... That's what he told me before the anaesthetic kicked in... but I was sure to tell him I love him just in case of that chance..."

The bluenette still remained unchanging as little red-head Rally hugged him, his head barely reaching the middle of his chest.

"Blitzu-chama, Nervu-chan will be all better soon! He's always been a tough fighter," Rally said. "You can't give up on him, either! He needs a nii-san that can believe in him like you do!"

"I'd offer words of comfort right now _**IF I WEREN'T IN SO MUCH DAMN PAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIN!!!**_"

"Hikaru!! I told you, keep biting the cloth!!" Genji said, nearly glaring at the writhing girl him and Taka were carrying. Hikaru bit down with her teeth in danger of cracking on an orange cloth, trying to channel the pain through it.

"Hikaru's arm again?" Blitz asked. It was obvious he wanted to turn around, but heaven forbid he avert his gaze from the two lights.

"Yeah, and this time it's worse." Genji responded. "Not to mention there's something up with Yusei's, and Hikari's got a splitting headache."

"Hikari?!" Tenpei asked, nearly toppling over in his wheelchair as he turned around. "What happened?! What's wrong with her?!"

Wincing, Hikari slipped her eyes open, picking her head up from Yusei's shoulder.

_"Ten-kun?..."_ Her fingers tightened their grip in her hair, pressing down on her head, trying to make the pain go away. _"Daijobu?..."_

"I'm fine, you're the one in pain!" Tenpei responded worriedly.

"We'd better go find doctors, and quick," Genji said, his arms tingling from carrying Hikaru. Despite how light she looked, she had good weight in muscles. "I don't know how much more they can take."

"Right." Yusei nodded.

"Come on," Genji said.

Genji began heading down the hallway with Taka. Yusei followed in suit, and Rally let go of Blitz, bidding him a goodbye before he ran to catch up, walking right beside Yusei. As Blitz remained motionless, staring at the red light, Tenpei turned, staring off after them.

**_Kari... Kari..._**

_"Hikari..."_ he uttered. Placing his hands on the wheels, he began wheeling after them.

* * *


	22. Exchange

"Tenpei-kun, what you did two nights ago... I'm not worth it..."

"Listen to me, don't you say that!" Tenpei said. "You are more than you think you are... believe me. I can see that..."

Hikari sighed before groaning, holding her head.

"My head feels really bang-bang ow-ow..." she whined.

"Kami, I hope you don't have internal bleeding..." Tenpei said.

"Hikari," Genji said, poking his head in the door. "The doctor can see you, now. Come on, we only have a few hours until the Fortune Cup."

"Okay..." Hikari said, standing from her chair.

"I'll wait out in the waiting room for you," Tenpei said, wheeling behind her.

"Arigatou na no da, Ten-kun." Hikari responded.

When Hikari took Genji's hand into hers, she noticed how tightly he held her hand. She didn't say anything as he began to head out, her following close behind him.

"Setsuna-Nii-san?"

"Yes, Aka-chan?" Genji asked.

"Do you know what's wrong with Sissy-cha's arm?" Hikari asked.

"Yes," Genji responded, his voice remorseful. "Unfortunately, the doctor said there's something wrong with her brain transmitters in that arm. It's what causes her to feel extreme pain with no source, and the only way to stop it is to amputate her arm entirely."

"Amputate?!" Hikari asked. "But-but-but-"

"Kari, calm down," Genji said, stopping and kneeling down. "Look, it isn't as bad as it seems. We'll be able to get her a mechanical prosthetic arm; the technology in this city is amazing!"

"But aren't robot prosthetics expensive?" Tenpei asked.

"The doctors here made a bargain with us," Genji responded. "Knocked off 91,960 yen for us. Nearly cut it in half! Now all we have to pay is 110,352 yen rather than 202,312 yen."

"They're practically giving it away at that cost," Tenpei said.

"It's the most we can pay in our financial situation!" Genji said. "That, and to get the deal I had to pawn off my gold studs..."

"Your gold studs? What a bummer..." Hikari said.

"Not really. I really don't like gold, I prefer silver." Genji responded.

"Does Sissy-cha know she needs a prosthetic?"

"Of course, she insisted the amputation go on! She's really hurting..."

"Will she be okay?"

"Of course, she's going in for the amputation in a little while." Genji said. "Don't worry, they won't bring her in until we see her. And the best part is once her arm is removed, they can attach the prosthetic afterwards, all in the same surgery."

"She'll be asleep for it, right?" Hikari asked.

"Of course. Don't worry, she'll be much better after her arm is removed. It's the only way her pain can go away..."

"Genji, doctor says you gotta hurry up!"

"Huh?" Genji asked, turning his head around. Blue eyes caught sight of a running Rally coming their way.

"We don't have much more time," Rally said. "Doctor says you gotta hurry up and bring in Hikari!"

"Right, okay." Genji nodded, standing back up. "Lets go, Kari." he said, taking her hand into his again.

Hikari followed after her brother, still being silent about how tightly he held her hand.

**Yusei: "Exchange."**

_**"Hikari, come on, don't lollygag."**_

_**Genji blinked, looking behind himself.**_

_**"Hikari?..."**_

_**Hikari was frozen. She stood still, eyes open, motionless, not breathing.**_

_**"Tenpei? Rally?"**_

_**The two boys were just as active. Tenpei's arms froze on his wheels, Rally froze his strut-like walking; the red-head's necklace was stilled in midair, the gleam of beads frozen.**_

_**"Setsuna Genji,"**_

_**"Who's there? What's going on?"**_

_**Genji gasped when the lights suddenly shut off. When he looked back at the other three, he was surprised to see blue light illuminating off of Hikari.**_

_**"Hikari?..."**_

_**"Quite the light, isn't she?"**_

_**Growling, Genji turned around, eyebrows bent. Ahead of him he saw a short man with light purple hair under a single red light.**_

_**"Who the hell are you? What's going on?!" Genji demanded.**_

_**"I, my dear boy, am Jeager," the other responded.**_

_**"Jeager?" Genji felt a small ache in his head develop as the short man began to chuckle. "What do you want, Jeager? What the hell is going on?"**_

_**"Nothing is happening, per say," Jeager responded. "I am a real person, but I am nothing but an illusion in your mind at the moment."**_

_**"Who are you, a psycho with ESPN?" Genji asked.**_

**_"I believe you mean _'psychic with ESP',_" Jeager responded._**

_**"Well, are you?"**_

_**"I can't answer that."**_

**_"It's a _hai_ or _iie_ question!!" Genji said._**

_**"Setsuna Genji," Jeager began. "I have something that I must tell you. It's regarding your sisters and brother."**_

_**"Well why couldn't you tell them?" Genji asked.**_

_**"Because entering their minds is impossible."**_

_**"Well what's so different about me?"**_

_**"You're wasting time."**_

**_"What time is there to be wasted? _You're in my freakin' head!!_"_**

_**Jeager smacked his forehead.**_

_**"Look, I am an illusion, but I also am not. Therefor, my time to speak with you is limited, and now thanks to your hollow-headedness, it's even slimmer." Jeager said.**_

_**"Okay, shoot."**_

_**"There is a choice you, and only you, can make." Jeager began, folding his hands behind his back.**_

_**"If you're telling me I'm destined to be gay, go fuck yourself."**_

_**Jeager gave a rough sigh and he sweat-dropped.**_

**"A little blunt, aren't we?"_ he mumbled. "This is regarding your siblings."_**

_**"Just get to the point," Genji said.**_

_**"I would be at my point already if you weren't interrupting me!!"**_

_**"Well," Genji said, crossing his arms.**_

_**"Listen to my words, brat," Jeager began. "There is a choice you have to make. Either you let Hikaru lose her arm,"**_

_**Genji's eyes snapped open at this and he then stared at Jeager, eyes wide.**_

_**"Or you can lose Yusei and Hikari forever."**_

_**"Nani?... What are you talking about?..." Genji asked.**_

**_"You haven't noticed? _Kekekeke..._" Jeager chuckled. "You saw Yusei's arm, correct?"_**

_**"What does his arm have to do with this?"**_

_**"It had a glowing mark; you saw that?"**_

_**"Yeah, I did..." Genji responded.**_

_**"Yusei caused Hikaru's arm to hurt before. And then Hikaru's headache?"**_

_**"What about it?" the green-haired boy asked.**_

_**"Hikari caused it."**_

_**Genji's eyes widened.**_

_**"The only way for things to be normal and for you to have a family, is if Hikaru loses her true arm, or if Yusei and Hikari are taken away, and never seen again by any of you..."**_

**_"I won't let that happen!!" Genji snapped._ _"I won't let them go; they can't be taken away!!"_**

_**"So it'll be at Hikaru's cost?"**_

_**"Quit toying with my mind!!" Genji snapped. "Hikaru told me she wants the automatic-transmitter prosthetic arm!! Her real arm is giving her too much pain!!"**_

_**"But if Yusei and Hikari were never seen again, then she wouldn't need an amputation." Jeager said.**_

_**"Go away, you hallucination!! Let me snap out of it with the munchies already!!" Genji said. "I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I sent them away!! Hikaru made her decision, and I am repeating her decision to you!! Now go away!!"**_

_**"Very well... that is your decision..." Jeager said as the red light around him began to fade. "Good day, Setsuna Genji..."**_

_**Genji sneered as the blue light from Hikari enveloped the entire darkness.**_

* * *

"Setsuna-Nii-san?"

Blinking, Genji looked down at Hikari.

"Daijobu? You just spaced out for a while..." Hikari said.

"Oh, yeah!! I'm fine... guess I'm just kinda tired." Genji responded, giving her a smile.

_Was that hallucination... really real?..._ Genji questioned as he looked back ahead of himself, continuing down the hallway. _Was that exchange... really real?..._ Genji closed his eyes. _No... no it wasn't..._ His eyes opened back up as he turned a corner to the right. _It was a simple hallucination caused by lack of sleep, exhaustion, and having been stuck on a boat for days. Not to mention the fact that my siblings are all in pain, Hikaru mostly. Yusei seems calm about his, though... maybe he knows something... wait, what the hell am I thinking? These are crazy thoughts!!..._

"Oh there you are, Genji!"

Genji snapped himself out of his thoughts as he brought his head up. He gave a small smile when he saw the doctor.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," Genji said. "I've brought my little sister for you."

"I don't like needles..." Hikari said, hiding behind Genji.

"Kari, don't worry," Genji said. "Dr. Toh is very nice; he even gave Karu a lollipop."

"And if you're a good little girl, I'll give you a lollipop, too." Toh said.

"Kari-chan, you don't need to be scared, Dr. Toh is nice. I mean, I don't like needles either, but when you get a shot from him you can't even feel it." Tenpei said.

"That's right, and I've been seeing Tenpei ever since he was a baby. Never cried once." Toh said.

"See Aka-chan? There's nothing to be afraid of," Genji said.

"I guess so..." Hikari said.

"Look, I won't be far away. I'll be right down the hall, okay?" Genji asked. "And Hikaru's right next door. If you need us, just call."

"Okay..." Hikari said.

"Come follow me," Toh said, turning around and walking into room 4.

_Did I... was it really me... did that... was that..._

_... Did Jeager really have me choose?..._

Genji stared at the door closed behind Hikari, staying still for a few moments.

_Maybe I should ask for a check-up as well..._

* * *

"Blitz, don't you think you should at least sit down?" Taka asked.

"I can't... I promised him I'd be right here waiting for him when he gets out..." the bluenette responded.

"Blitzu-chan..." Rally said.

Blitz blinked and gasped when the red light flickered off. For a moment it was silent.

"Nerve-Otouto?..." he whispered.

Blitz nearly felt his heart skip a beat as the green light turned on. A moment later, a doctor opened the door. He was wearing green scrubs beneath a surgical gown, wore a surgical mask, and a surgical cap on his head.

"Blitz?"

Blitz nodded, worry seen in his eyes. His hands clutched Nerve's bandanna tightly.

He grasped his mask and brought it down. For a moment where was silence once more, but then he gave a smile.

"The operation was successful; much more successful than anticipated."

Blitz felt pure bliss filling his body as he began to shake, smiling a wide smile.

"Nerve will be fine." the doctor finished.

"Arigatou... arigatou!"

* * *


	23. Akachan's Baby

"How are you holding up, Karu?"

Wincing, Hikaru rubbed her arm in its sling.

"When do I get the mutation?"

"It's _'amputation'_," Genji responded.

"Ugh, I don't know how much more of this I can take..." Hikaru sighed roughly. "Twinny-chan, why are you sitting all of the way over there?"

"I don't want you to be in more pain than you are already," Yusei responded, sitting on the opposite side of the room at the chair nearest to the door. "The further away from me you are, the less your arm will hurt."

"Yusei, for the hundredth time already, I told you that none of this is your fault!" Hikaru said.

"Tell that to Hikari..." Yusei said, turning his head away.

"Am I going to have to come over there and punch you?!" Hikaru asked, standing up. _**"- HOLY FRICK CAKES!!!"**_ she exclaimed, grasping her arm again with her left hand. _**"Ow ow ow, fucking ow!!"**_ she said, sinking back down. "Why can't they just bring me in now?"

"You haven't been prepped for surgery yet is why," Genji responded.

_"Lolly lolly lolly lolly..."_ Hikaru said, her free hand holding the stick of the lollipop in her mouth.

"What the hell?" Genji asked.

"I'm keeping myself occupied!"

**Yusei: "Aka-chan's Baby."**

"How can there be nothing wrong?! She's in pain!!"

"I can't crack it, Genji, I'm sorry." Toh said. "Medically she's fine-"

"There's gotta be something you could do!!" Genji said.

"I tested her for allergies, the flu, strep throat, anything it could possibly be regarding medical conditions, but nothing came up."

"There isn't anything else you can do?"

"X-Rays and other scans could find out what's wrong, but they're expensive."

"Dr. Toh, give them any treatments they need!!"

"Ten-kun?" Hikari asked, looking out the door. Surely enough, right by the door was the injured boy in his wheelchair.

"Hikari-chan is one of the best friends I've ever had, and if there's something wrong with her, I just don't want to take the chance of losing her!! So, please... if there is anything you can look for, do, test her for, treat her for, do it!! I can pay for it if money is any issue!!" Tenpei said.

"Tenpei, as nice are you're being, we Fudos are no charity case." Genji responded defiantly.

"It's asking too much of you to do something like that for me, Ten-kun..." Hikari said, staring into Kaoru's eyes, who was laid on her knees. "Living with a headache will be fine with me, really..."

"Kari-chan, I want to help you all that I can!! If the world lost you, it would lose its entire source of light!!" Tenpei said. "I want to protect you, I want to take care of you!! I'd do anything to help you... you should know that by now!!"

"Ten-kun..."

* * *

_**"Ten-chan, Ten-chan!!"**_

"Lua-chan, Luka-chan!!"

Once the twins approached Tenpei, they halted, panting heavily.

"We came as soon as we received your video message..." Lua said.

"Where's Kari-chan? Is she okay?" Luka asked.

"They're running all sorts of tests right now," Yusei responded. "Hikaru and Genji are with her..."

"She has a really bad headache, though," Rally said.

**_"- the hell are you doing?! What's going on?!"_**

**_"Calm down, we have to get her under control!!"_**

**_"What's wrong with her?!"_**

**_"We're trying to figure that out!!"_**

"What's going on?" Blitz asked, stepping out of Nerve's room.

"That's what we'd like to know!" Genji said as he and Hikaru headed back to the waiting area. "Hikari just starting screaming _'bang-bang ow-ow, bang-bang ow-ow'_ at the top of her lungs, and they pushed us out of the room..."

"They wouldn't have been able to pry her outta my arms if nothing was wrong with me..." Hikaru said, sinking down into a chair. "Lil' Light looked so scared..."

"She just got worse?" Tenpei asked. "But how?"

"I don't know, and damn it my arm feels really funny..." Hikaru said, picking up her free hand and holding her right arm. "Setsuna, I have no idea how much longer I can wait for this freakin' arm mutation surgery..."

"It's _'arm amputation surgery'_," Genji said. "And they can't do it yet because the doctor who is head of surgery isn't available right now. Plus they need to figure out where to make the incisions, and they need to get you your automatic-transmitter arm ready so they can attach it to you after your real arm is removed."

"And thank Kami I'll be asleep for it all..."

"Jesus, she sounds like a cat being violated by a German shepherd!" Blitz said, staring down the hallway.

"And you would know that how?" Genji asked.

"It's an expression..."

"Luka?"

Luka looked up, glancing at her brother.

"Are you okay?" Lua asked.

"I don't know; my arm kinda feels funny, too..." Luka said, grasping her wrist.

"Nani?" Hikaru asked, picking her head up. "Luka-chan's arm hurts, too?"

"I don't even know if you can call this pain..." Luka said. "It tingles... and it does kind of burn a little..."

"First Yusei, and now Luka, too?" Genji asked. "This has got to be far from coincidence..."

"Genji, keep a close eye on Hikaru!! Luka, come with me!!"

_**"- Whoa!! Yusei-kun!!"**_ Luka exclaimed as Yusei nearly flung her over his shoulder, running towards the door.

"Hermano!! Where are you going?!" Hikaru called after him.

**_"I've got to go see Yanagi!! He'll know the answer!!"_** Yusei responded before he ran out the double-doors.

"So I take it he has some sort of an idea?" Genji asked.

"If he's anything like me, no," Hikaru said.

"Why'd he take Luka with him?" Lua asked.

"They both did have tingling arms, you know..." Genji said.

_But just what the hell is going on here?..._ Genji asked himself. _Is this something that Jeager-thing tried to tell me about?..._

"Genji, Hikaru,"

"Dr. Toh!" Genji said, standing back up. "Is Hikari okay?"

"She's calmed down... we gave her something so she could sleep, though. She was stressing herself out..." Toh said.

"Did you find out what's wrong with her?" Hikaru asked.

"Not quite, but... we did find something."

"What is it?" Hikaru asked as she stood up.

"... Before I tell you, I've got to ask..." Toh began. "Is your sister... sexually active?"

"Sexually active? Hell's no!! I've barely taught her the birds and the bees!!" Genji said.

"I taught her," Hikaru said, flicking Genji's hair.

"But what does... that... have to do with her?" Genji asked.

"... Well, according to an ultra-sound we performed to check on her inner organs, either we found a large tumor in the shape of a fetus, or a fetus itself..." Toh said.

**_"What?!"_** Genji asked. _**"Who-where-how-why-what do you mean?!"**_

"We've confirmed that's she's pregnant... about six months along to be exact..."

"Six months ago she was eleven!!" Hikaru said. "There is no way - I mean, she's had her... 'monthly visit'... regularly!! I should know, she gets really sick when she's crampy!!"

"She could have been faking it,"

"Hikari would never lie to us!!" Genji said. "Look, I don't know how this happened, but regardless of how it happened, it happened!!"

"And I should know she's been regular!! I washed the clothes!!" Hikaru said.

"Karu-chan, we get the point..." Taka said, sweat-dropping.

"Look, I know this is big news-"

"**Huge news,** doc, _**huge news!!**_" Genji interrupted.

"- but you do need to know that with a girl like her, she's going to be at some risks..." Toh continued.

"Risks?" Genji asked.

"The baby seems to be growing at a normal pace, don't get me wrong, but Hikari is a small and fragile girl. Giving birth in three months could lead to complications..."

"Then... what about a C-section?" Genji asked.

"A C-section would help reduce the amount of problems, assure the baby isn't coming out backwards, but Hikari is a very small girl, might I repeat." Toh said. "If we wait until it's to be delivered, there is a chance she could die in childbirth..."

_"Die?!"_ Hikaru gasped, feeling her heart stop.

"What are you suggesting we do?..." Genji asked.

"Look, Hikari may not wake up for a while from the sleeping medicine, but I think it would be wise if we remove the baby as soon as possible." Toh responded.

"Dr. Toh, legal guardian or not, I don't want to make this decision for Hikari." Genji said. "If the decision I make upsets her, I'd bear that burden with me all of my life, no matter how much she'd tell me it's alright.... Hikari's grown up since I last saw her, and if I go and mess things up for her life by making this decision, she'll never learn to be independent..."

_"Ow, ow, ow..."_ Hikaru said, grasping her arm again.

"We'll prep you for surgery soon, Hikaru," Toh said.

"Okay..."

"Genji, we'll give you until this evening," Toh said. "If Hikari hasn't woken up by then, we'll have to perform the C-section, regardless of what you say. Only Kami above knows for sure what will happen to Hikari, and I'd rather not see a little girl like her die because of this."

"Okay... could we be alone for a while?" Genji asked.

"Of course," Toh said, bowing before he headed down the hallway again.

"... If this is one big, crazy dream, somebody just shoot me now..." Genji said, him and Hikaru sinking back down into their chairs. "Hikari is too much of a baby herself... she can't handle being a momma yet. I don't call her 'Aka-chan' for nothing!!"

"This is Hikari's choice, Set, not ours," Hikaru said.

"Kari-chan's gonna be a mother?" was all Lua could muster up to ask.

"By the looks of it, yes, Lua..." Genji said, resting his head in his hands. "Karu-chan, this can not be happening..."

"Things really have changed a lot..." Hikaru said, staring at the tiles on the floor. "But regardless of her choices, Hikari needs us to be with her right now... she needs her brothers and sisters to care..."

"If this baby lives, then maybe... just maybe..." Genji began. "We'll finally be able to reach a silver lining..."

"... You know, I think she can do this..." Hikaru said.

"What makes you think that?"

"It's just a feeling I have for some reason... I can't explain it."

* * *


	24. Broken Hallelujah

"Ten-chan seems tired..." Lua said.

"He woke up this morning and kept me company when Nerve was brought into surgery." Blitz said.

"That sure was nice of him," Lua said.

Tenpei was currently laying in his bed fast asleep, glasses askew.

"Where did Nii-san and Luka-chan go again?..."

"They went to go see Yanagi-sama," Genji responded.

Hikari was awake now, but very tired and she was feeling weak. Another bed was brought into Tenpei's room so she could stay with him.

"Kari, do you know what you want to do yet?" Hikaru asked, holding Hikari's hands with her one good hand.

"... I'm not sure yet... I need to think about it... this isn't just something to decide on in two minutes..." Hikari responded.

"Do you really think you can be a momma?" Genji asked.

"Think of if this way; if the baby does live, we'll be a bigger family..." Hikari said.

"Hikaru, it's time," Dr. Toh said from the door.

"Okay..." Hikaru said. "Lil' Light, I'll see you when I wake up, okay?"

"Okay, Sissy-cha..." Hikari responded. "I love you..."

"I love you, too, Hikari," Hikaru said, leaning down and carefully hugging her frail sister. "Feel better soon."

"And Sissy-cha feel better soon, too."

**Yusei: "Broken Hallelujah."**

"How are you feeling, Nerve?"

"Tired... and a little sore, but... I feel so much better already..."

Blitz smiled, leaning down and carefully hugged his younger brother.

"I was so afraid that I'd lose you..." Blitz said.

"Nii-san, I'll do my best as a little brother. I promise I won't leave you... not after Mama and Papa..." Nerve responded.

"You know, I can still remember the day you were born," Blitz said, brushing hair from Nerve's forehead, and he did so in a way that it reminded the younger of how their mother used to when he was bedridden. "You were so tiny, pink, pudgy and cute... and what's better was I didn't have any other brothers or sisters to share you with. You were all mine."

"I remember those days... so well..." Nerve said, smiling. "I was always still so sick and frail, though... Mama and Papa had to do so much to get me my medicine so I wouldn't have to suffer... and you always went to the trouble of it, too, Nii-san..."

"I can't stand seeing you hurt is why," Blitz said.

"Nii-san... you're just like how Mama was..." Nerve said, his hands wrapping around Blitz's hand. "Caring, compassionate, outgoing..."

"And you're just like how Papa was, Otouto," Blitz said, his free hand poking his index finger onto Nerve's nose. "Brave, strong, and fierce."

"... Nii-sama?"

"Yes?"

"... What would you have done if I didn't make it?..." Nerve asked.

Blitz drew in a breath through his nose, gazing up at the ceiling as he let it out.

"Truthfully... I'd be both sad that I'd lost you... and yet, I'd also be happy, because then I'd know your suffering was over and you wouldn't be in pain anymore..." Blitz responded. "I'd mourn my entire life over you; you're all I have..."

"Nii-san... promise me something..."

"Huh?"

Nerve tightened the grip his hands had around Blitz's hand.

"If something ever does happen to me... I wish that you would keep on living..." Nerve said, his voice soft. "Nii-san has precious treasures in his life other than me..."

"Like what?" Blitz asked.

"Taka-chama and Rally-chan, they're like our family..." Nerve began. "Yusei, too, and Genji-san is a good friend... and it would take an airhead not to realize Hikaru-chan and you are close with one another..."

"Hikaru said she isn't even sure how she feels about me..." Blitz said.

"You never know if you don't try... take a chance," Nerve said, his eyes closing.

Blitz froze when the room fell silent. He felt chills run through his body, unsure about Nerve at the moment.

"Otouto?..."

Blitz could have jumped for joy when soft breathing indicated Nerve had only fallen asleep. He placed a hand over his heart, taking a deep breath, smiling when he let it out.

"Don't scare me like that again..." he told the sleeping boy, still smiling.

"Blitzu-chan?"

Blinking, Blitz turned around and looked at the door. He almost immediately identified Fudo Hikaru outside the door on a stretcher.

"Hikaru-chan?" Blitz asked.

Hikaru gave him a smile.

"Doctor left me here for a sec... I'm going in any minute now..." Hikaru said.

"You scared?" Blitz asked as he approached her.

"Only a little... it's to be expected, though," Hikaru responded. "I am losing my arm, after all..."

Blitz almost blushed when he realized the blanket over Hikaru's form was the only thing covering her torso. Black marker marks were on her right arm, showing where the removal should begin. There were also black dots as well; where the robotic transmitter arm would be installed.

"I'm gonna look weird after this..." Hikaru said, turning her head so she could stare up at the ceiling. "I doubt anyone will think I'm pretty after this..."

"Hikaru, I don't care about your arm, I care about you. And I think you're beautiful." Blitz said.

Hikaru blinked, red spreading across her face. She then looked back at Blitz.

"You'd still think that even when I'm part robot?" Hikaru asked.

"Of course!" Blitz responded. "I'd think that if you were burned, or sick, even with artificial body parts!"

"... Blitz?..."

"Yes?"

"... I think I'm in love with you..."

* * *

_**Tenpei cracked his eyes open, groaning as he became face-to-face with pitch black.**_

_**"Lua-chan, is there a blackout or something?" Tenpei asked as he sat up, rubbing his eyes with his left hand. "Lua-chan?"**_

_**A gasp emitted from his throat. Lua was nowhere to be seen. Hikari was the only other person visible to him at the moment, and where her hospital bed was there was nothing; she was just floating in midair, laying on her side, curling around her stomach in an almost protective fashion. She looked weary yet peaceful as she slept. Blue light glowed from her body - the only source of light around them.**_

_**"What's going on?" Tenpei called out, looking ahead of himself. "Is anybody out there?"**_

_**"Hakara Tenyei,"**_

_**Tenpei blinked when Jeager appeared at the foot of his bed, red light coming off of him.**_

_**"Aaaaaaaaahhh!! Not the nightmare where a clown molests me!!" Tenpei cried, covering his head with his arm.**_

_**"That's disgusting!" Jeager exclaimed, his face scrunched in distaste. "I'm only a figment of your imagination!"**_

_**"Wait," Tenpei began, peeking over his arm. "This isn't my most traumatizing dream?"**_

_**"No, kid."**_

_**"Then who the hell are you?" Tenpei asked, putting his arm down.**_

_**"I, Hakara Tenyei, am Jeager."**_

_**"It's Hayano Tenpei."**_

_**"Does it look like I care?" Jeager asked.**_

_**"What's going on here? Where am I?" Tenpei asked.**_

_**"I'm in your head," Jeager responded.**_

_**"Are you my conscience?" Tenpei asked.**_

_**"No, I'm a real person." Jeager responded. "I've come here to ask you something."**_

_**"Couldn't you do this when I'm in consciousness if you're a real person?" Tenpei asked.**_

_**"No."**_

_**"What do you want?"**_

_**"Let me ask you... how much do you love Fudo Hikari?"**_

_**Tenpei gasped, and looked over at Hikari. She was still there, the blue light illuminating off of her.**_

_**"I can't express in words how precious she is to me..." Tenpei responded in a low tone.**_

**_"_Kekeke,_ how cute. Naive love." Jeager chuckled. "Poor you. She can't be around forever."_**

_**"What are you saying, clown-face?" Tenpei dared to ask, turning his head back to look at the purple-haired, clown-looking, short man.**_

_**"Hikari was born to suffer."**_

_**Brown eyes widened.**_

_**"Nani?... What do you mean?..."**_

_**"Hikari's future is set in stone," Jeager said. "She was destined from her birth to face great suffering, and her destiny cannot be changed just because of love. That baby in her belly is the proof of the burdens she bears."**_

_**"That can't be..." Tenpei responded. "Hikari is the hikari of the world; she lights everything up! She can't be born to suffer!"**_

_**"It's too late," Jeager said. "She was born a Fudo; there was no escaping it. Her happiness... is never to be. That means you will soon be removed from the picture."**_

_**"I won't let her suffer; I won't!" Tenpei shouted. "I love her! I love her so much if she suffered, then, then, then-"**_

_**"Then what?" Jeager asked, smirking.**_

_**"Then I'll suffer with her!!"**_

* * *

Tenpei shot up into a sitting position with a scream.

_**"- Waaaaagh!!"**_ Lua exclaimed, whacking his head on the side table. Groaning, he rubbed the top of his head with one hand and his eyes with the other. "Ten-chan?" he asked, turning around and standing up. "Daijobu?" he asked as he put down his eye-rubbing hand.

"H-hai... I just had a nightmare... I think..." Tenpei responded.

"What about?" Lua asked.

"... Hikari-chan..."

"Don't worry; she was awake for a while when you were asleep." Lua said, smiling at the brunette. "She fell asleep again," he said, turning to look at Hikari's bed. He then jaw-dropped and sweat-dropped when he saw she wasn't even there. "Uh..."

"She isn't here?" Tenpei asked.

"... Her and Genji-san must have gone somewhere when I nodded off..." Lua said.

"I've got to find her!" Tenpei exclaimed, standing and slipping into his wheelchair, beginning to head out the door.

"Ten-chan, wait for me!!" Lua said as he followed after him.

_**"- Ooff!!"**_

"Ten-chan!!" Lua exclaimed when Tenpei was knocked over.

"Oh my! Gomen, Tenpei-chan!" Genji said, leaning down and helping Tenpei back up. "Daijobu?"

"Hai... I landed on my good shoulder..." Tenpei responded.

"Tenpei-chan, Lua-chan," Genji began. "Have you seen Hikari?"

"Iie," Lua responded. "We were just about to go look for her. She wasn't there when we woke up."

"I've only got a few more places to look," Genji said

"Well then we can look together," Tenpei said.

"Arigatou."

* * *

"Nani? Rally-chan?" Lua asked.

Turning his head around, Rally smiled.

"Hello," the red-head greeted.

"What are you doing standing here?" Tenpei asked.

"Hikari-chan's in the recreational music room over here," Rally said, pointing to two open double-doors. "She's playing the piano."

"Piano?" Tenpei asked.

"Hai. Her playing sounds sad, though..." Rally said.

_**Hikari was born to suffer...**_

"Thank Kami she's alright..." Genji sighed. "Huh?" he then said as he picked his head up as a familiar song was being played with piano notes. Rally hummed, folding his hands beneath his chin, leaning against the wall, his hazel-silver eyes closed.

Hikari: _**I've heard there was a secret chord,  
That David played, and it pleased the Lord,  
But you don't really care for music, do you?**_

"Her voice..." Tenpei began in a whisper. "It's beautiful..."

Hikari: _**It goes like this,  
The fourth, the fifth,  
The minor fall, the major lift.  
The baffled king composing,  
Hallelujah.**_

_**Hallelujah, Hallelujah.  
Hallelujah, Hallelujah.**_

_**Your faith was strong, but you needed proof,  
You saw her bathing on the roof,  
Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you.**_

Tenpei seemed to be the only one who was conscious enough of himself to go into the room, unnoticed by the silver-haired girl. Thin, pale fingers from pale hands glided across the gleaming ivory keys.

Hikari: _**She tied you to a kitchen chair,  
She broke your throne, she cut your hair,  
And from your lips she drew the  
Hallelujah.**_

_**Hallelujah, Hallelujah.  
Hallelujah, Hallelujah.**_

Tenpei's eyes unconsciously filled with tears that fell silently down his face.

Hikari: _**Maybe I've been here before,  
I know this room, I've walked this floor,  
I used to live alone before I knew you.  
I've seen your flag on the marble arch,  
Love is not a victory march,  
It's a cold and it's a broken  
Hallelujah.**_

_**Hallelujah, Hallelujah.  
Hallelujah, Hallelujah.**_

**_There was a time you let me know,  
What's real and going on below,  
But now you never show it to me, do you?  
And remember when I moved in you?  
The holy dark was moving too,  
And every breath we drew was  
Hallelujah._**

**_Hallelujah, Hallelujah.  
Hallelujah, Hallelujah._**

Hikari's playing became softer, her head bowed, eyes closed.

Hikari: _**Maybe there's a God above,  
And all I ever learned from love,  
Was how to shoot at someone who outdrew you.  
And it's not a cry you can hear at night,  
It's not somebody who's seen the light,  
It's cold and it's a broken  
Hallelujah.**_

_**Hallelujah, Hallelujah.  
Hallelujah, Hallelujah.**_

_**Hallelujah, Hallelujah.  
Hallelujah, Hallelujah.**_

Hikari remained motionless as she held down her fingers on keys for the final lingering notes. When Tenpei embraced her from behind she didn't react.

Remnants of her voice echoed through the boy's ears.

_**It's a cold and it's a broken  
Hallelujah...**_

* * *


	25. The Baby Signer

_**"I'm Edward Elric, I'm Edward Elric!!"**_

_**"Hikaru, be careful!!"**_

Hikaru flipped back up onto her feet. She spun her right arm around - her new, automatic-transmitting arm. A wide grin was on her face.

"This is so much more awesome than I thought it would be!! I feel like a superhuman!! _**Just call me Fullkaru!!**_" she exclaimed before falling forwards with her right hand out, using it as her main balance when she began to walk on her hands. _**"Whoo hoo!!"**_

"Why must younger siblings be so hard to control?..." Genji asked, his hair covering his eyes.

"She already had her arm removed?"

"Hah?" Genji picked up his head, turning around. Surely enough, there Yusei stood, Luka beside him with her hands behind her back. "What took you?"

"Jii-chan dragged us into a very long tale..." Luka responded, sweat-dropping.

"And after all of that, I still don't have a solid answer..." Yusei said.

"Look Yusei, what ever it is you're trying to do, just cut it out." Genji said in an almost spiteful tone. "You really are new to the life of having a family, aren't you?"

"Uh..." was all Yusei could muster up.

"Here's one thing you must get straight right now," Genji began, holding a finger in the air. "Family must stick together. No matter what. You got that?"

"... We have another brother out there..."

Genji's blue eyes widened.

"Say what?..."

"I had a vision before..." Yusei responded. "For some reason, all of our births flashed before my eyes... I saw yours, Hikaru's and mine, then another one from your mother before I saw Hikari's from my mother..."

"... You're kidding, right?" Genji asked, blinking. "I-I mean... yeah, it could be possible, but... he could have perished in the accident with your momma, my momma and our papa!!"

"No... he's in the Satellite," Yusei responded. "In an orphanage..."

"... So there's no way we'd be able to go back and get him?" Genji asked.

"I don't know exactly, really," Yusei said, walking closer to Genji, but ending up just sitting on the chair nearest to the door. "I only saw his current state for a few moments... but it's staying as clear as crystals in my mind."

"... Do you, do you know..." Genji ran a hand through his hair. "... Do you know his name?..."

"Tenshi."

**Yusei: "The Baby Signer."**

**_"Luka, come on!! We have an hour to get to the Kaiba Dome!! I have a duel!!"_**

Luka remained unmovable in her spot, a hand over her mouth as she giggled.

"This is just too cute, Lua!"

Luka's gold eyes were locked onto Tenpei and Hikari. They had both fallen asleep on Tenpei's bed, and Hikari rested her head on Tenpei's chest, clinging to him like she did to Kaoru. Despite the ever present kawaii-factor, she still looked weak and frail.

**_"Take a picture; it'll last longer!!"_** Lua said, jumping impatiently.

"Hey, great idea!!" Luka said, pulling her dark pink cell phone from her pocket. She flipped it open and held it up, readying to take the perfect picture of the site in front of her eyes.

_**"Hurry up, Luka!! I have to impersonate you today!!"**_ Lua said before a flash came from Luka's phone.

"Perfect!! I've got to e-mail this to myself..." Luka said, her thumb pressing buttons on the keypad.

**_"Luuuuuukaaaaaaaaaa!!"_** Lua whined, biting his lip impatiently, his cheeks puffing up with air. _**"I need time to put on my make-up when we get there!!"**_

"Don't you mean _my_ make-up?" Luka asked, closing her phone before re-pocketing it. "And since when do I wear make-up in the first place? You know I don't like dolling myself up to look as fake as breast implants."

"Have you seen my face?" Lua asked, pointing his fingers to his cheeks. _**"There's no way they'd believe a girl has a face like this!!"**_

"Lua-chan, you and Luka-chan are identical..." Rally said.

_**"We are not!! I'm a boy, not a girl!!"**_ Lua said, stomping his foot down impatiently. _**"Now come on, Luka!!"**_

"Just why do you need me there, anyways?" Luka asked, approaching her brother.

_**"Have you ever seen one twin without the other? Besides, all we have to do is swap clothes!!"**_ Lua said. _**"Then I'll put on a bit of make-up to make my skin look softer, like I am a girl!!"**_

"I'll do your make-up," Luka said. "There's no way I'm going to let you make me look like a painted doll."

**_"Come on, Luka!! We're leaving now!!"_** Lua said before he ran out the door.

"... Well, give our regards to Ten-chan and Kari-chan." Luka said, looking over her shoulder. She smiled. "I'd better go make sure Lua doesn't tear apart the lobby... see you soon!" she said, waving.

"Bye-bye, Luka-chan!" Hikaru said, waving.

"Take care," Genji said.

"We'll be rooting for you guys!!" Hikaru said, punching her metal fist up into the air.

"Arigatou," Luka said.

**_"LUKA, HURRY UP!!!"_**

**_"Don't raise your voice, this is a hospital!!"_** Luka called as she stepped out of the room.

"Man, I wonder when Lil' Light's gonna wake up," Hikaru said. "I wanna show her my new arm!!"

"And it's best we tell her about Tenshi..."

Hikaru turned, looking at Genji. Genji stared out the window, looking out into the streets.

"Aw, Genj..."

"... Hikaru, I can't stand the thought of Tenshi being alone in the Satellite... with nobody to turn to..." Genji sighed. "Kami knows how old he is..."

"If Yusei said he was born before Hikari, he's definitely not the baby." Hikaru responded. "But, we've got to figure out a way to somehow reunite with him. Do you think he remembers us?"

"I doubt it..." Genji responded. "If our mommas and our papa perished and we all lost our memories, he surely can't remember us..."

"I'd be surprised if he does remember..."

"Hikaru, Genji,"

"Oh my, Yusei?" Hikaru asked, turning back towards the door. Surely enough, there stood the younger of the two twins. "What are you still doing here? I thought you had to go leave for the Fortune Cup..."

"Hai, but..." he began. "... I have something of Hikari's I must return to her,"

"Nani?" Hikaru asked as Yusei crossed the room to the two children sleeping on the bed.

Genji turned around as Yusei knelt down beside the bed. Creases appeared in-between his eyebrows when he saw a look of pain cross Hikari's face, but he then pulled out her blue hair ribbons from his pocket. Carefully, so as not to awaken her, he tied and bowed them around the hair-ties keeping her silver locks up in two ponytails. A moment later, he stood up again.

"I'd best be off now," he said, turning. "When Hikari wakes up, give her my love."

As Yusei was about to head back to the door, a metal hand clasped over his left wrist.

"Hermantio..." Hikaru began. "You'd better not be thinking of leaving us!" she said in an almost harsh tone. "If you leave us now because you're blaming yourself falsely... then you'll never be allowed back in! Got that?"

"Forgive me, hermana mayor de las minas," Yusei responded, keeping his head down low. "As much as I blame myself, I wouldn't leave forever... I just need time to figure things out. Especially for Hikari..."

All of a sudden, Hikaru nearly jerked Yusei back, holding him in her arms tightly, protectively. She held his head on her shoulder.

"Yusei... listen to me, because this is the last time I'm going to say it, okay?!" Hikaru began. "Nothing that's happened is your fault; why are you being so stubborn and not listening to this?! Stubborn... you're so damn stubborn!! You're just like Papa!!"

"You-you can remember Papa?" Yusei asked.

"I'm slowly starting to remember some things..." Hikaru responded. "But being stubborn is still no reason as to why you've been acting this way!! Sometimes arms just need to be removed, sometimes Signers come along, unexplainable pregnancies can happen, and family separation can happen, too!! Just get those fucking thoughts out of your head!! You can't keep doing this!!"

Hikaru clung to Yusei and held onto him so tight he thought she'd shatter. Their roles seemed to switch; Yusei was the older, Hikaru was the younger. Yusei couldn't move his arms to hold his sister, though, because with her newly found strength, his arms were pinned to his sides.

He was trapped.

Hikaru: _**Twirling, whirling, round we go.  
Twirling high, and twirling low.  
Twirling round we go...**_

_**Twirling, whirling, round we go.  
Twirling fast, and twirling slow.  
Twirling round we go...**_

_**Twirling, whirling, round we go.  
Twirling high, and twirling low.  
See the colors skip and flow...**_

_**See the ribbons as they blow...  
Twirling round we go...**_

_"We'll never be apart..."_ Yusei whispered to her. _"I promise..."_

**_"YUSEEEEEEIIIIII!!! HURRY UUUUUUUUUPPPPPPPP!!!"_** Lua shouted.

Yusei managed to pull away from Hikaru's weakened arms. Without a word or a glance back, he walked to the door.

Hikaru stared after him, filled with a strange feeling. A feeling telling her she'd never see him again.

Her heart began to ache.

* * *

Hikaru's head shot up when a scream approached her ears.

_"Hikari!!..."_ she gasped, immediately standing up and running out of the room. Blitz followed after her, and from the other end of the hallway, Genji was running. Almost in a neat line, they ran into Hikari and Tenpei's room.

"Hikari!! What's the matter?!" Genji asked.

Hikari couldn't answer. All she could do was write in pain on her bed, Tenpei's hands holding one of hers tightly, Rally holding her other. The only sounds she could make were screams.

"She was fine just a second ago!!" Tenpei said. "Then she just started screaming!!"

"... Did she... wet herself?..." Blitz asked, blinking.

_**"Out of the way!!"**_ Toh said, rushing to the little girl. He parted the three in able to look at her. "Kami... her water broke!! This baby's going to be born premature!!"

"Is there anyway for her to have that C-section?" Genji asked.

"There's no time!!" Toh said, bringing up Hikari's bed so she could sit more upright. "We have to deliver it here!!"

"Don't worry, Hikari!! We'll be right here!!" Hikaru said, letting Hikari grasp her metal hand, wrapping her real hand around Hikari's.

Toh proceeded to cover Hikari's lower body with the sheet, and was almost kicked in the face by Genji when her skirt and underwear were slipped out a moment later.

_"Hikari, breathe, **breathe!!**"_ Hikaru said, breathing in and out of her mouth, the younger soon copying as best as she could.

"Hikari, on three, I need you to push! Okay?" Toh asked.

_**"Haa-aaaaahh!! Hai!!"**_ Hikari barely managed to say through the pain.

_"One... two... **three!! Push!!**"_

Hikari's neck strained back as she pushed. A much louder scream soon came up her vocal chords.

Time and space blurred. Coherent images and thoughts all seemed to die away. Aside from it all, Hikari was still conscious of Hikaru holding one of her hands, Tenpei holding the other. Everything seemed slow, almost swirling around reality itself.

Had this been what childbirth was like for her mother? Only two times worse when Hikaru and Yusei were born? For Genji's mother?

A feeling of a job well done swelled over Hikari's mind as she was almost fading back into reality. The cries of a baby hit her ears, and tiredly, her eyes opened. Blurrs disappeared when the figure of a baby was seen not too far from her.

_"It's a boy!"_ reached her ears. But what she felt most relieved about was Tenpei hugging her around the shoulders, and she was certain it was him.

Even through all of the vivid confusion, the thing that caught her attention the most was the glowing birthmark on the baby's arm; her baby's arm; her son's arm. The red outline of a dragon head burned into her eyes for the split second it appeared, forever hanging and remaining on her conscience.

The silver hair on his head gleamed in the light; he looked just like his mother.

And he was as big and healthy as any other baby after a full term.

* * *


	26. Epilogue: Hikaru's Love

Hikaru stared almost sadly from the doorway. Tenpei laid with his back to the door - on his good shoulder, not his right one - beside Hikari. He held the girl in his arms, letting her cry her exhaustion out into his chest.

Sighing, Hikaru walked down the hallway to Blitz, whom stood outside of Nerve's room. He was leaning against the wall, staring at the ceiling when he turned his head. Smiling, he stood back up straight.

"Hey... is she okay?"

Hikaru nodded, leaning against the wall beside him. She stuffed her hands into her pockets.

"I suppose it was inevitable..." Hikaru sighed, staring up at the ceiling. "I guess I just didn't want to admit to myself that I couldn't keep Hikari all to myself forever, that I couldn't just always cling to her..." Burning tears began to form in her eyes. "I really didn't want Hikari to leave me... I didn't. What I wanted... was for us to be together forever... but I guess it was selfish of me to always wish that..." She sniffled, bringing up her right sleeve to wipe her eyes. She blinked, staring at her metal hand.

Blitz wrapped his arms around her, rubbing her back, letting her rest her head on his shoulder.

"She really has grown up... she's just like Momma..." Hikaru whispered. "... And she's lucky to have found someone like Tenpei-kun who will always take care of her... always look after her... be the father of her child..." She sighed again. "This all seems to be too much like a dream... I can hardly believe this is reality.... Where do we go from here?..."

"What's done is done, Hikaru..." Blitz began, holding her in her arms like she were a precious gem. "Nothing can undo what's already happened... all we can do it let the path unroll..."

Hikaru found herself smiling, and picked her head up. Her eyes were still teary, but the blue shined through successfully. She smiled, and Blitz smiled back when his green eyes met her blue eyes. He placed a hand on her chin before leaning in, kissing her gently. Hikaru returned it.

Blitz would have done anything to stop that beautiful, gorgeous young woman's tears.

"Do you think that things can work out?..." Hikaru asked when they parted.

"Only time will tell..." Blitz responded.

Hikaru smiled again.

"Well, all I can tell right now is..." She wrapped her arms back around Blitz. "I don't want to let you go..."

"I don't want to let you go, either..." Blitz whispered, wrapping his arms around her as well.

**Yusei: "Epilogue: Hikaru's Love."**

As for Yusei... the day of the Fortune Cup he fought with all the strength he could muster. "Hikari No Tenshi" played in each of his duels.

After his final duel with Atlas Jack, he disappeared.

"You're so beautiful..." Hikari said, her finger playing a bit with a silver curl of hair just above the baby's forehead. "I love you so much already..."

"Good evening,"

"Oh?" Hikaru asked, looking towards the door. She smiled broadly. "Lua-chan, Luka-chan!! You're just in time; we were about to celebrate the birth of Akira!!"

Lua and Luka stared ahead of themselves like they hadn't heard her speak.

"Y-Yusei-kun has..." Luka began.

"... Disappeared..." Lua finished.

All Yusei had done before hand was compose a letter. He sealed it and entrusted that the twins deliver it to his siblings.

_**Dear Genji, Hikaru and Hikari,**_

_**I would just like to say on behalf of myself that I am truly and sincerely sorry for the things I've done, no matter how many times you say it isn't my fault. I know, I am a dummy when it comes to family because of my almost natural distancing... I can see how we're alike now, Hikaru.**_

_**Genji, forgive me, the eldest of us all. I know this may be a rash decision, but I have to return to the Satellite. I have to... so I can find Tenshi and reunite him with us all... and if we can ever manage to get a place of our own here, somehow, maybe we'll hang up our first family photo... can you see it?**_

_**Hikaru, remember the last thing I told you, we'll never be apart... I can promise you that much, hermana mayor de las minas... as twins, we will always hold an unbreakable bond. We began our lives together and at the same time from the same place... wouldn't it be loverly to always feel that bond between us?**_

_**Hikari, all I can think of right now is what could have been if I had never met you... I'd still have been an amnesiac to my past, and I would have never known or learned what it is like to love someone so dearly... and the thought brought back bad memories. You know, I keep on kicking myself for not watching over you the way I should have. I guess as an older brother, I still need to learn. Hell, I suppose a brother all together, because I'm doing a shitty job so far, older and younger.**_

_**Hermano, hermana mayor de las minas, hermanita, I promise you, I will come back. I will... I love you all. Keep a close eye on this card for me, will you?...**_

_**With love from,**_

_**Fudo Yusei, the luckiest person to have ever been blessed with a family such as this one**_

_**P.S.: Here's to a new beginning.**_

There were tear-stains on the paper, and enclosed in the letter was Stardust Dragon.

No matter how heart-wrenching it was to lose Yusei like this... they had done their crying a long time ago.

"I propose a toast," Genji began, holding up a glass of milk. "To the beautiful birth of Fudo-Hayano Akira."

"To Akira!!" they all echoed.

"And to Yusei," Genji continued. "Whom we love dearly, and will keep in our thoughts until his return."

"To Yusei,"

"Yusei-kun,"

"Yusei-Nii-san,"

"... There's no use brooding over this..." Genji said when the room fell silent. "Yusei... hermano can take care of himself... he isn't helpless."

"Besides... why worry? We all know he'll come back..." Hikaru said.

Somehow, Hikaru feared her own words.

After Tenpei returned home from the hospital, so did Hikari. Willingly, he opened up his home to the Fudos, whom graciously thanked Saiga for all of his help and all of the trouble he went through to retrieve them. Genji opened up a pawn shop, and began to pay Saiga back.

When Tenpei's parents returned home, he made it very clear to them that if Hikari and the others left, then so would he. His father was shocked mostly, but his mother seemed to be more of a supporter. His father left him and his mother, and was never seen again. They turned his father's bedroom into a baby nursery for Akira. Tenpei's mother decided to take a job that required no travel. She became a Secretary for one of the Kaiba Corp. buildings, and her mother moved in with them to help Tenpei and Hikari with raising Akira.

After being tracked down by someone who told an agent about her performance, Hikari was given a record deal with Moon Unit Productions, but of course, Hikaru was right by her side. The singing sister-duo soon became one of the best-known groups around. They still haven't revealed their last name, telling the entire world that they are the sisters of the New Duel King, Fudo Yusei, who went missing after the Fortune Cup.

After he was released from the hospital, Nerve was told to relax for at least a month before he went to work again. Blitz was there to take care of him through it all, and when ever he was asleep was time the bluenette spent with Hikaru. They'd talk, tell each other stories, Hikaru would shoot him lyric ideas, wonder why Kami created the banana (Nerve asked them this out of the blue one day, and it then began to randomly eat away into Hikaru's head until she would pay attention to it), and sometimes they'd just spend well-deserved alone time together. They'd borrow Hikari's D-Wheel - which she was too young to drive on the road in the first place - and drive down to the beach. The only interruptions they were given were occasional people running up to Hikaru asking for an autograph because they're her biggest fan, and the loud squawks of sea gulls.

Every day Hikari woke up early and went to bed early. Up by six to feed Akira, and help Hikaru make breakfast. About half an hour later the house would be alive and bustling. Blitz would be making sure Nerve was comfortable in his chair, or would a cushion help? Rally would be talking to Akira and making funny faces, sticking out his tongue and giggling as the baby giggled. Tenpei would read the paper in wonder as to why so many duelists who lost duels were being ostracized. Sure, Neo-Domino was a very pro-dueling city, but why push it that far? He and Taka sometimes debated on whether or not dueling was "all that", and other spectacles in the news this morning such as the discovery of a possible hole in the universe that leads to another universe - "Where are we living, now, Star Trek, Taka-chama?" - and they really got into it sometimes.

Breakfast would begin after grace, and Tenpei's mother, Sayu, would praise how healthy Akira looked and how he was growing.

"He's becoming quite the momma's boy," she commented one morning.

"Just like his father," Hikari responded with a wide grin. Genji slapped his knees under the table, and nearly face-planted into his scrambled eggs and Canadian bacon, saying Hikari definitely had his very same sense of telling good jokes.

"Genj, you can't tell a joke if Death were laughin' at ya in the face!" Hikaru said.

Genji remained silent for the rest of the morning.

Routine set in almost immediately, thanks to Akira. "The world revolves around him" is what Tenpei's grandmother, Teresa, said. In a sense, it did, saying as his eating and sleeping schedules were the same every day, save a few times where he giggled himself tired or wanted more milk because he didn't eat enough that morning. Akira always cried for a good twenty minutes when Hikari had to leave for her three hours every week day. Usually afterwards he would require Tenpei to feed him, burp him, change his diaper and put him down for a nap. It was a shame that was the easiest time to take care of him.

One day, when Hikaru and Hikari were getting dinner ready and Lua and Luka were visiting, cooing over Akira, Genji rushed home an hour early.

**_"Karu, Kari!! You're not going to believe this!!"_** he exclaimed not even bothering to take off his shoes until he had tracked mud in the living room.

"Setsuna!! We just cleaned the floors!!" Hikaru scolded, her hands on her hips.

Genji growled, shaking "Setsuna" off of his shoulders. Deciding not to question Hikaru's _Kiss Da Diva_ apron, he held up a piece of paper and a torn envelope.

"I just got a letter from Yusei!!"

Immediately, Hikari dropped the knife she was using to cut up the beef into cubes, missing her fingers by inches.

"Hermano wrote us?!" Hikaru asked, nearly shoving her face into the letter.

"Nii-san's okay?!" Hikari asked, tugging on Genji's sleeve.

"Listen to this. It's just so... Yusei." Genji said, picking up the letter to his eye level.

_**Dear Genji, Hikaru and Hikari,**_

_**Forgive me for not contacting you sooner. I've searched every orphanage in the Satellite, and finally, I have found Tenshi. He's frail and sickly, though. The polluted air around here is doing him more harm than good... and returning to Neo-Domino with him should be a piece of cake.**_

_**I promise, until I can return, I will take care of him. And Genji? He remembers you. Up until a few years ago, your mother was still alive, as well. But unfortunately, she took ill, and passed away.... Tenshi told me that if he wasn't so sickly, he would have gone to search for you. I guess he truly is a Fudo at heart.**_

_**Hikaru, I promise you, I will come back. I promise... we'll never be apart. I just need to help and old friend in need...**_

_**If you get the chance, tell Rally and the others I've found Crow again. They'll remember good old Crow for sure...**_

_**With love from,**_

_**Fudo Yusei and Fudo Tenshi**_

_**P.S.: Tenshi's picture is enclosed.**_

Genji then held up a photograph. Within it, was a picture of a young boy dressed all in white. It was a marvel as to how clean he looked. He had long white-bluish hair, light blue eyes, and pale skin. Around his neck was a pendant of a blue topaz - a pendant Genji would recognize anywhere. Every small snippet-memory he had of his mother included her wearing that necklace; he supposed their mother gave it to Tenshi before she passed. He could imagine her passing it off to him like a rope that would save his life, a link to her, a link to him, as if telling him "It's okay, you don't need me so much anymore... find Setsuna. Love him like you loved your mother, Tenshi..."

Truthfully, Genji cried when he saw his little brother's picture. All during his run home, no matter how much people stared, he let his eyes drain.

"Aw, Genj, he's beautiful!!" Hikaru exclaimed. "And he's our brother!! Aw, now sitting's gonna make me antsy waiting for Yusei to return!!"

"I am definitely still the baby," Hikari said. "He is much taller than me!!"

"Actually, I'd say he's only a bit taller than you by the looks of it." Genji joked, cracking a smile.

"At least my vertically challenged self is cutesies," Hikari said, puffing up her cheeks. "That's what all of my fans like about me!! I look cute and cuddly!!"

_**"And no one can have her but me!!"**_ Hikaru exclaimed, scooping her sister up into her arms like in the old days.

_**"Hahaha, Sissy-cha!! Let me down, we have to finish dinnersu!!"**_ Hikari giggled like her old self.

"Okay, okay!" Hikaru said, setting her back down onto her feet. "Y'know what you should do now, Genj?"

"What?" Genji asked.

"Do what Kari and I did; get big and lil' pendants for you and Tenshi-chan!!" Hikaru said, picking up her pendant by the chain. "That would be so cute!! Man, the thought of you having Tenshi like I have Hikari is making me want to squee up to the heavens!!"

"_Eww,_ **gross!!** **_Akira threw up on me!!_**" Lua cried.

"I told you not to bounce him so much!!" Tenpei responded, picking up the silver-haired baby from Lua's arms as the other boy began to whine, saying Akira "stained his favorite shirt!" while Luka said "Lua, all of your shirts look the same..."

Tenpei could only smile as he wiped Akira's face with a burping towel, and calmly told Lua he knew a patented stain removal his mother taught him, that he would clean his shirt and in the mean time loan him one of his.

"Aw, Akira's so cute!!" Luka cooed.

"You think it's cute that he threw up on me?!" Lua asked. "And I thought you were my sister..."

"It's your own fault; he ate not two minutes before you got here." Tenpei said.

"Lua-chan, Luka-chan, are you staying for dinner tonight?" Hikari asked as she began to cut the beef into cubes again.

"We always have room here; the more the merrier!!" Hikaru said.

"We'd love that," Luka said with a smile. "Thank you for your hospitality."

"Anything for the family," Hikaru responded. "Besides, I can't stand the thought of you two home alone eating nothing but mac and cheese..."

"Especially if Lua cooks it; all he does is burn things - even pudding!!" Luka said.

An hour and a half later, dinner was served. It was Rally's turn to say grace, and when he brought up Yusei, the room fell silent for a few minutes. However, he continued his prayer and soon ended it. After dinner, Hikari was sent straight to bed. Tenpei tucked her in and kissed her good night. Soon after, Akira was put to bed for the night, as well.

Late that night, Hikaru woke up to find her and Blitz had fallen asleep on the couch watching television - something she was still growing accustomed to. Carefully, she stood up and walked out onto the balcony. She stared off to the ocean; the Satellite caught her eye.

_Yusei... Tenshi..._

She closed her eyes.

Hikaru: _**Kiss me sweet,  
I'm sleeping in silence...  
All alone, in ice and snow. **_

_**In my dream,  
I'm calling your name,  
You are my love... **_

_**In your eyes,  
I search for my memory...  
Lost in vain, so far in the scenery.  
Hold me tight,  
And swear again and again;  
We'll never be apart... **_

_**If you could touch my feathers softly,  
I'll give you my love.  
We set sail in the darkness of the night,  
Out to the sea,  
To find me there,  
To find you there.  
Love me now,  
If you dare... **_

_**Kiss me sweet,  
I'm sleeping in sorrow...  
All alone, to see you tomorrow. **_

_**In my dream,  
I'm calling your name,  
You are my love... **_

_**My love... **_

Hikaru wiped the tears from her eyes, and transitioned into another song.

Hikaru: _**Ame ni nureta hoho wa,  
Namida no nioi ga shita.  
Yasashii manazashi no,  
Tabibito... **_

_**Shizuka ni hibiiteru,  
Natsukashii ongaku.  
Omoidasenai kioku,  
Samayou... **_

_**Yume wa tobitatsu no chiisana tsubasa de,  
Omoi no kienai basho made,  
Futari de,  
Tooi umi wo sora wo koete... **_

_**Kurai yoru no naka de,  
Watashi wo terashiteru.  
Yasashii manazashi no,  
Anata ni...  
Aitai... **_

"Sissy-cha?"

Hikaru turned around, seeing Hikari standing in the doorway. A crying Akira was being rocked in her arms.

"Are you okay?"

"Kari, what are you doin' up?" Hikaru asked.

"Akira wouldn't calm down for Tenpei-kun... he wanted his momma real bad." Hikari responded. "I'm heating him another bottle..."

"This kid's gonna be tired in the morning..." Hikaru said. "And you will be, as well."

"At least tomorrow is our free day..." Hikari said with a smile. "And, Sissy-cha?"

"Yeah, Lil' Light?"

"You're thinking of Nii-sama, aren't you?" Hikari asked.

Sighing, Hikaru nodded.

"It's been almost a month ever since he disappeared..." Hikaru responded. "We were barely together for two days, and then he had to go..."

"Nii-sama... he will come back,"

"What makes you think so?" Hikaru asked, a bit baffled.

"Well..." Hikari began, rocking a calming Akira. "I remember every time I needed him, he always came back.... He came back after we first met Saiga-kun, he came looking for me when I wanted to see the Black Rose Witch, and when I broke down, he came back..." Hikari stared down towards the floor of the balcony. "Nii-san always kept his promise then; that he'd come back... I know that this time is no different..."

Hikaru smiled.

"If you're confident about that, then I will be, too..." Hikaru said. "Besides... I know he'll come back... it's just one of those sisterly instincts."

After Akira had his bottle, he fell back asleep, as did Hikari. Hikaru settled back with Blitz minutes before he woke up. By the time he was up, she was asleep. All he could do was smile, lay back down, and deal with sleeping on a couch for the night.

Anything for that beautiful young woman.

* * *

Gash: ... Holy shit...

Aki: What?

Gash: ... ^-^ _**YYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IT'S FINIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISHED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**_

Aki: (Stuffs cotton into her ears) _**YOU'RE GOING TO MAKE ME GO DEAF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**_

Zeon: Just smile and nod.

Aki: And whilist my creator is screaming to her heart's content, let me make this clear... _**I CAME BEFORE IZAYOI AKI!!! "AKI" IS MERELY A NICKNAME FOR "AKUMA"!!! GOT THAT, PUNKS?!?!**_ (Fuming)

Zeon: (Fanning Aki with a paper fan) She's touchy about people questioning her name...

Gash: Gee, Akks, you look all red like a tomater!!

Aki: Done shouting yet?

Gash: For now.

Aki: Good. (Removes cotton from her ears)

Gash: ^-^ Man, I feel so... _**WOW**_ about myself right now!!

Zeon: How come?

Gash: Well, lesse... when Sissy-cha first asked me to make her a birthday present for her birthday this year, I had already started writing this a month before her birthday entirely. By the time her birthday rolled around, I had written the prologue and the first sixteen chapters. And yeah, I don't know why, but I waited until the very end of the story to add comments about it rather than leaving one at the end of every single chapter like I usually do. Guess I decided to wait because of not posting it until April 26... (yeah, FanFiction says it's the 25th because it was before 3 am that I posted it) and might I add that uploading all of the chapters and editing them through was a huge accomplishment on my part, considering the fact that it took me nearly three hours to complete it all...

Zeon: Yeah... she slept like sleeping beauty after all of that editing, though...

Gash: And it was all worth it!! Because this story - which is one of the longest I've written, and also one of the fastest - was for my Sissy-cha, Dark Angel Of Wind, the bestest big sister I could have ever asked for!! And even though it's about a month late, I once again wish Sissy-cha a very happy birthday!! ^_____^

Zeon: (Blows on a party whistle) Whoo!!

Gash: And I'm not just gonna end the story here, I promise!! A sequel _**WILL**_ be produced, but considering I'm still plotting it all out, it may be a bit of a wait. Hey, a girl's gotta figure out how she'll bring Yusei back, safe and sound with Tenshi, and hook Yusei up with a little someone!!

Zeon: Jack.

Gash: TT_______________TT _**YOU GAVE IT AWAY, ZE-ZO!!!**_

Zeon: I couldn't contain my excitement.

Gash: Aw, that's okay!! ^-^ 'Sides, I could never stay mad at a fluffy little kitsune like you!!

Aki: _**GET ON WITH IT ALREADY, WOULD YOU?!?!**_

Gash: o.o _**Eeeps!!**_ (Nibbles on a cookie) ~____~ And y'know, I named the baby "Akira" because it means "bright" and "clear", and "hikari" means "light", "hikaru" means "sparkle" or "radiance", and apparently "yusei" means "oil well"...

Zeon: Really?

Gash: Yep. I use this online translator and it said that "yusei" with only on U - cuz some people spell it as "yuusei" which confuzzles me - means "oil well"... and as Sissy-cha pointed out, our OC family has a bit of a theme going. "Tenshi" which means "angel", "setsuna" which means "justice"... if only I could find out what "Tenpei" means...

Aki: I think it stands for "I'm gonna shove my foot up your-"

Zeon: (Makes a truck horn sound by tugging on his own tail)

Gash: o.o Really?...

Aki: Yep.

Gash: Wells, anywho, thus ending this story, I will ask all of the kind peoples here to review for me!! (Makes a polite bow) This is a story I've worked hard on for the past two months, and it being my first 5D's fic, I wish I could be given some feedback!!... And all of a sudden, I just realized I'm practically rewriting 5D's all together... O.o And a thought occurred to me today... what will 4Kids name Crow and Kiryu?

Zeon: Well, go ahead, damn it. Review or this silver kitsune will kick his foot up your - (Makes a truck horn sound by tugging on his own tail again) - so far that the doctor who last gave you a prostate exam will feel like he's just been-

Aki: (Covers Zeon's mouth with her hand) Ze-Zo, this threat is getting to explicit. Even for a rated M audience.

Zeon: Oh, sorry.

Gash: **_REVIEW PLEASE!!!_** ***^-^***

* * *


End file.
